The Missing Princess Book 1: Obi's (Back)Story
by RyuuNoOkaasan
Summary: Obi finds himself assisting Shirayuki in tending to a woman found in an accident in the mountains. Upon learning who she is, Obi must face his past and Zen, the new Regent of Wilant, must desperately return stability to the Region. At the same time, Shirayuki has to focus on what is really important to her or she won't be able to stand by Zen.
1. Finding a New Patient

_So, I love SxZ, but I also love Obi (and Izana, and MxK, and Ryuu!). This is my drama/action-adventure/romance/political drama for Obi. I hope you will have fun with me._

 _This is my first work to publish on this site, though I've published fanfic on other sites online...way back. I would love to publish for pay. I've got two books finished and a third in the works. Wish me luck - and please constructively comment!_

 _Ryuu no Okaasan (because my kids wish they were dragons and I think they already are)_

 _Update: I'm combining the sections into their proper chapters. Over one hundred sections is too much, IMO._

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

The cries of the carriage driver alerted the passengers of impending danger, but they had already heard the sound of crumbling rock that was quickly crescendoing into the thunderous roar of a rock slide. He jerked the head of the horse away from the path of the rocks, but here the road led right along the rocky cliffs climbing steeply up and away into the barren northern reaches of Wilant in the northernmost part of the kingdom of Clarines, while on the other side was a downward slope of rock and scrub. They had been heading back to the Lady's home, the Earldom of Farmor, where her husband had ordered her to return from her winter self-pity trip to the outlying village of Osterly.

It was justifiable, whispered the servants. He'd again had his fun while she was away and had only called for her after having sent his rough and rowdy friends and their women home. Likely as not he was ready now for her to come and clean up the messes, including soothing the ranting underlords. That had always been the job of the Earl's steward before he had married the Lady, but peculiarly, this time the steward had gone along with the Lady on her trip. The Earl himself had actually ordered it, claiming that he wanted to ensure that his Lady wife was not going off to have a tryst just to make him jealous, as if it were her fault that she wanted to keep running way. While the Lady was justifiably outraged at the insinuation, she was just a bit relieved. Her own jealousy would be a bit mollified by the arrangement.

The Earl was just a little too close to his steward for her comfort, and the years-old rumors that they - the Earl and his steward - had been lovers long before she came into the picture still regularly haunted her. What really rankled the most, though, was that the Earl had not deigned to raise her to the rank of Countess after the marriage. He'd promised many things before the wedding that hadn't been fulfilled, but that she still held over his head in the few moments of time she had opportunity to open her mouth in his presence. What could have been a marriage of convenience quickly became hell. At least the steward had been solicitous on the journey and had not been much of a bother at all, but then that was often the case at the Earldom proper as well. She really found the steward unfathomable.

As the Lady looked out her window, watching in horrified fascination her rapidly approaching death, she felt a draft come from the downhill side of the carriage. She turned to see that self-same steward glance at her, then leap from the carriage to go tumbling down the southern slope. The first rocks hit the carriage, sending it, and her with her two ladies-in-waiting careening forward slightly, then it fell crashing to the ground to be buried by the landslide. Her last thought was to wonder at the look in the steward's eyes. It was the same look of tender pity that she had caught being thrown her way before on this trip and wondered at. At least someone would regret her death, even if only slightly. But..., why would it be the steward?

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1 Finding a New Patient**

"There's quite a bit of commotion all of a sudden." Shirayuki turned towards the sounds of soldiers and men milling about near the stables where she and her companion had just left his horse.

Obi shaded his dark golden eyes with his hand, peering in the same direction. "Shall we go see if we can learn something, Mistress?" He looked at her with that expression that was teasing and obliging at the same time.

"Mmn," Shirayuki nodded after pausing for a bit. They'd just arrived in Osterly, but Obi's business at the garrison there would be brief he'd already informed her, so they had some time.

Obi guided her, taking his usual care to ensure she was placed where she would be safe from the chaos itself, then snagged a passing man and began to question him. After all, it was his job to make sure that this special person of the Second Prince of Clarines was kept safe at all times.

 _As usual,_ Shirayuki smiled as she watched him, _Obi finds it so natural to talk to perfect strangers as if they had always been next door neighbors._

She was watching the stable hand checking his work when the familiar warmth of her guardian and friend appeared at her side again. She looked up at him questioningly. _I forget until we are standing this close that he is taller than me by a whole head._

The expression in Obi's eyes was somber, though his face was carefully neutral. "Mistress, they are saying that there has been a landslide back upon the road we just came in on. Apparently a passing carriage was caught in it. They are putting together a joint town and garrison search and rescue party."

"Ah, is it the one we passed on the way here then?" Shirayuki remembered that the carriage had been a private one, rather than one of the public ones that even she had rented a seat on.

"It seems likely," Obi nodded. "What do you wish to do, Mistress?"

Obi always seemed to know when Shirayuki was about to go into action, but then he'd been her guard for over five years now. "Do you know who is in charge, Obi?" and, as he pointed to one of the garrison soldiers, "I'd like to speak with him."

Obi deftly steered them through the concerned chaos until they reached the officer in charge. "Lieutenant Leeds, may we have a word with you for a moment?"

The Lieutenant looked across his shoulder at Obi and his companion, then respectfully turned to face them, "Certainly, Sir Obi." Obi, as a knight in the direct employ of Zen Wisteria, Second Prince of Clarines and Regent of Wilant (since seven months ago), outranked him. Even if the lieutenant hadn't recognized him, the wisp of brilliant red hair peeking out from underneath his companion's hood would have given him away just as immediately.

"Lieutenant, we have heard about the accident involving the carriage we passed on our way here. I am a Court Pharmacist and would like to offer my services."

"Of course, Miss Shirayuki, your skills I am sure would be of great use," the Lieutenant paused and Shirayuki's eyes widened slightly at not needing to be introduced. "But you are, I am sure, on important castle business. We are waiting only on the arrival of the garrison field surgeon at this time."

Shirayuki looked at Obi quizzically. He raised his hands indicating that she could choose. He knew she wouldn't be able to rest if she wasn't allowed to help. Her natural instinct to help anyone in need that she had the power to help was often bringing them to detours along the road, but he loved and honored her for that, among other thing. _She is always pushing herself forward_ , he smiled inwardly.

Shirayuki turned back to the lieutenant, her face resolute. "We will come with you. Our business is not so urgent that we must leave behind us injured nobility and their retainers."

Lieutenant Leeds bowed in acquiescence and Obi took the opening to ask, "Who's carriage was it?"

"Earl College of Farmore's," the Lieutenant answered. "His Lady wife and her escort and ladies were on their way to return to the Earldom seat from this place."

Shirayuki, intent on her mental inventory of medicinal supplies she had on hand with her, completely missed seeing the uncharacteristically strong reaction Obi had to these words. "Will you please retrieve your horse again, Obi?"

"Obi?" She repeated and looked up when he didn't answer. The look of shock on his face disappeared in an instant, leaving Shirayuki to wonder if anything had been there. "Yes," he said, bowing to her, then he quickly turned away and headed towards one of the stable hands, leaving her temporarily in the care of the lieutenant.

Lieutenant Leeds immediately began to sweat slightly and look around the area with more keen and careful eyes. If he were to become known as the soldier who let anything harm this red haired common girl from the country of Tanbarun and sweetheart of Prince Zen, he'd likely never find honest employment again. Among the soldier ranks, who revered Prince Zen, she was the favored pick to become his princess because she had single handedly saved an entire garrison from death by poison, among other services to them. He was quite relieved when Obi finally reappeared with his horse in tow.

He and Shirayuki mounted it in their usual way, Obi holding the reigns and Shirayuki balanced comfortably behind him. Engrossed in their own thoughts, neither the lieutenant nor Shirayuki marked Obi's uncharacteristic silence and shadowed eyes.

The Osterly Garrison field surgeon, Bonner, a greying man in his fifties, stepped out of the small room he had been using as a surgery. He was feeling today like he really should have retired and settled down with a sweet plump woman somewhere warmer and quieter. Wiping his rinsed hands on a clean rag, he looked around the open room that served the village of Osterly as town hall and celebration center, and in the long cold winters of the North as the market place. Currently this corner of it, near the few offices and smaller rooms included at the edge of the open area, was a coroner's office and mortuary.

Miss Shirayuki and the village midwife, each followed by a young lady assistant, we're going through the few bodies, straightening them, washing them as best they could, and generally preparing them for delivery to Earl College. It was a little surprising to see that the young court pharmacist was keeping calm and working efficiently. While watching the young miss who had caught the eye of the Clarines Royals, he could hear Lieutenant Leeds wrapping up his report to the garrison captain.

"...Lady College, her two ladies-in-waiting, the two mounted guards, and the driver all dead by the time we found them. The horses as well. Miss Ilena was thrown from the carriage and is the only survivor. But a huge boulder has crushed her hip and the surgeon…"

"...Thinks she will survive." Bonner had moved over to join the conversation. Both other officers nodded acknowledgment of his arrival as he continued. "I've cleaned the wound and set the bones as best I can at this time. There is quite a bit of swelling of course and many of the pieces of the bone are no more than fragments. I expect some amount of infection and will likely need to perform more surgery later."

"But you think she will survive?" The young female voice at his elbow told him the Court Pharmacist had also come to hear his report. He nodded once. "That is good. Will she be able to walk again?" Shirayuki looked genuinely concerned for the long term welfare of the survivor.

"Miss Shirayuki, it is fortunate that this accident has happened so close to this garrison," Lieutenant Leeds told her somewhat proudly. "Our field surgeon here is the best in Wilant. He has set and repaired the bones of many a soldier that otherwise would have left them crippled for life. If there is anyone in all of Clarines who can help Miss Ilena at this time to walk again, it is Field Surgeon Bonner of Osterly Garrison!"

"Hrmmph. I'm not so sure about all of Clarines, Leeds, but I will certainly do my best, Miss Shirayuki. After all, the Earl greatly values his steward."

"His...stew-ard?!" a new voice broke in surprise and the little group turned to find Obi had silently joined them. It was apparent he had just come from cleaning up after helping to carry in the bodies of the dead. "You said her name was…?"

"Miss Ilena, Sir Obi," Obi's expression remained one of great surprise.

Shirayuki interjected, also with surprise, "The Earl's steward is…? The Earl has a woman as steward of his household?" She had visited with the earl's Head Gardener prior to their coming on to Osterly, as part of her spring rounds. It had been her last stop on her way back to Wilant Castle. They had only stopped in Osterly because of Obi's errand at the garrison there. Thinking back to when she had visited the earldom one time before, in the fall, she couldn't remember there being a woman in such a position. Perhaps she had mistaken the female steward to be a maid, ...or had Miss Ilena just not been present at that time as well? It seemed odd that such a rough, and somewhat scary man would have a female steward. Obi hadn't been able to be with her when she met the earl briefly last fall, just long enough for him to disinterestedly give her permission to carry out her experiments, and she'd been just as happy to not see him this spring.

"If you could call that one a woman," muttered Lieutenant Leeds. The field surgeon studiously looked down at his hands and wiped some possibly imaginary dirt off them.

Captain Grey threw the lieutenant a cautionary rebuking look, "Miss Ilena has worked very hard to become someone the Earl can trust completely, something he does not grant to anyone else. She is an exemplary servant to her lord, and equally, she serves all the members of the house and Earldom with equity and firmness. She is highly qualified for the position even given her young age." He continued apologetically, "Unfortunately, the Earl is known for his sudden bursts of anger and sometimes...erratic behavior. Miss Ilena has become expert at deflecting his outbursts and repairing his.… Well, let us just say that after observing the Earldom for fifteen years now, the eight years she has stood by his side have been much more stable than it ever was before. For the Earldom to lose her would be a great blow, in my opinion."

Captain Grey turned to Obi, who was still looking mildly surprised. "I would like your opinion, Sir Obi, as to whether or not you suspect or found evidence of foul play. It is unlikely that the Earl would have allowed his steward's life to be threatened, but it was common knowledge that his wife was a thorn in his side, though it was not all her fault by any means."

"Ah...You assume it was the Earl himself who ordered it, and not outside assassins?" Obi raised his eyebrows, then frowned. "Or even the steward herself? It sounds like it would have been a good way to remove a potential rival."

All three men shook their heads. Apparently the reputations of all parties involved were well established at this garrison. "The Earl is not very...creative, and he was bound by the oath of his marriage vows. Though there have been rumors in the past about the Earl and Miss Ilena, they do not bear out. Their relationship is strictly as it should be. The Lady's father's house will likely complain bitterly that it was spousal murder, but because he is such a minor lord, in the end he will not be able to receive redress. Steward Ilena would not involve herself in any such activity. Rather it is she that does her best to dissuade the Earl from entering into such wicked schemes, at least as much as she is able."

"How is it you know this?" Obi asked.

"Well, confidentially mind as it is part of our being able to maintain the peace here in Farmore without direct conflict with the Earl," the Captain lowered his voice sufficient to exclude all but those directly around him, "but Miss Ilena has on important occasions managed to get information to us that has allowed us to prevent somewhat nefarious deeds from being perpetuated. Of course she is extremely limited in her capacity, having to remain trustworthy in the eyes of her lord, but she is able to turn a blind eye towards our secret investigations."

At this, Lieutenant Leeds nodded. "It's creepy, actually, how she is able to know when there are spies about, where they are, and even who they are. She has called me by name when my own mother and father wouldn't have recognized me...if they could have even spotted me, though she never gave away my position."

"The rumors she is a magus or a ghost are quite false, I assure you," Bonner interjected dryly. "After all, ghosts don't get their hips crushed and bleed that much and a magus would have been able to escape unscathed, if such creatures existed."

Obi, having once been part of the professional group of nefarious-doers, didn't have much respect for the soldier spies and their capabilities. They were quite capable of missing the presence of all but the most junior thief, and all who walked the dark paths learned to instinctively recognize when a soldier, disguised or in uniform, was around. But Miss Ilena's capabilities were intriguing. He wondered how they could say she walked in the light when her master walked in darkness. _No. Not light. Twilight. Balancing between the darkness of House College and the light of Wilant and Clarines._

"Besides," continued the captain, returning to his defence of the steward, "she was here with the Lady, which is very unusual. It would be like the Earl to think that because they were together he could say he couldn't have been the one to have ordered the murder of his wife, as that would have put his precious steward at risk."

"But she very obviously jumped from the carriage before it was buried under rocks, based on where we found her," Obi objected. "Would she have allowed the assassination of the Lady if she is as upstanding as you say?"

"I do not know why she jumped, Sir Obi, but she and the Lady were here for nearly three months. That is plenty of time for the Earl to have planned this murder without her knowledge. I do not believe she would have allowed it to happen if she had known about it."

 _That was long enough for her to plan it herself_ , thought Obi.

"There is one other clue, Captain," the lieutenant added. "Miss Ilena was only partially buried under small and medium rocks where we found her, but below her was one large boulder that we believe caused the damage to her hip. Above her we found traces of blood and marks on the rocks. It is possible that the carriage driver's head wound was caused by a staff that was then used to send the boulder down upon her."

Captain Grey pursed his lips. "Well, I admit to being puzzled as to why Earl College would be willing to place her life in danger, or even to end it. But either way, it is fortunate she is alive."

Obi nodded. "Indeed. It will be interesting to hear what her answers are when she regains consciousness. I will expect her to be guarded at all times and to be informed when she awakens. If the Earl comes for her himself, he is not to be allowed to see her nor to regain her until Regent Zen is satisfied that the investigation is complete." The soldiers, used to hearing and obeying orders, straightened as they received his words. "When will she be able to be moved into the garrison?"

Bonner looked into the distance, then said, "It would be best to leave her here for at least three days, and maybe for a week, at least until I am able to complete the second surgery. To move her any more than we already have at this stage would once again place her life in critical danger. Even moving her after the second surgery would not be advisable. I believe at minimum a two week period will be necessary for her to reach sufficient stability to be transported to the garrison."

"How long for her to reach sufficient stability to be moved to Castle Wilant?" It was the soldiers' turn to be surprised.

"Do you really think that will be necessary, Sir Obi?" asked the captain.

"If, as you say, she knows what the Earl has been doing, I don't think he'd take kindly to having her questioned in an official investigation. I think it would be wise to assume that he will try to have her removed. While it can't be helped that she can't be moved rashly, I believe it will be necessary to take her to the castle as soon as possible."

Bonner answered, "To move her even that distance...a month at least would be best - and then only if the wound is sufficiently restrained so that it does not shift. She must lie flat on her back for six weeks, only beginning to rise slightly at four weeks, for the hip bone to repair itself sufficient to be walked on again." He paused a bit, then added, "However, there's one complication. Three tendons in the hip have been torn, two partially. The third, which attaches the main front leg muscle to the top of the hip, has been torn completely. I can repair the bone and the first two tendons sufficiently, but the third one I may not be able to correctly repair. If not, while she will be able to sit in a rolling chair for some limited mobility, Miss Ilena will not be able to walk again."

-o-o-o-

"Mistress?" Obi knocked at the guarded door, then entered.

"Oh, Obi! You've returned." Shirayuki looked up from the table where she had been working, her red hair reflecting the candlelight in front of her.

Examining her closely, Obi smiled wryly. "You have been working hard again."

"Well, it isn't as if there is much I can really do," Shirayuki admitted. To Obi, she was looking rather disappointed. Typical court pharmacy cases were resolved in a few hours to days at most. Sitting for the length of time it would take surgery and bones to heal would be different. Regardless, he knew Shirayuki would not give any less of herself to the duty she had claimed, though it might be a bit misplaced. Of course it wasn't his duty to tell her that, right?

"Well, it is evening already and the dinner meal done." Noting the empty dishes beside her, he added, "It looks like you've appropriately taken care of yourself in that matter, at least."

Shirayuki glanced towards the dishes as well, following his look. "One of the village ladies came and brought the food, and also a bit of water for Miss Ilena. I seeped a few herbs in it to help keep down any infection and aid in the healing."

"We're you able to get any of it down her?" Obi wondered, trying to imagine it.

"Well, between the two of us - Alise and I, that is - we managed to figure out a way."

"Then, teach it to me, too," Obi couldn't help but smile at her determination yet again, "and I'll help next time." As Shirayuki nodded he added casually, "Ah, but for now, you should get your rest, Mistress. After all, Master will not like to see your eyes so shaded when he arrives tomorrow."

"Eh!? Zen? He's coming tomorrow, here?" Shirayuki bounced up from her seat in shock and guilt. Zen was infamous among his aides for becoming sternly unhappy with them when they did not take proper care of themselves. She knew better, but when she was caring for patients she had a tendency to forget herself. Obi was right. Zen would be unhappy...and he would notice. She hadn't been able to hide exhaustion from him since the garrison poisoning event. That time he hadn't noticed and had gotten angry with himself and scolded her for taking it all upon her own shoulders.

Obi grinned at her, happy he could tease her. She always had the best reactions whenever Zen was involved. He loved both his Master and his Mistress, especially when they were together, so he was also looking forward to the next day. "Since the castle is close, I thought it best to send my report immediately. Especially since Master would worry when we had not arrived to report our progress by evening. I have just now received his reply...by bird."

Shirayuki raised her eyebrows. The beautiful blue island birds that were trained now as messengers for the crown were still fairly rare and prized, particularly here in the cold north. They were native to a warmer climate island that was part of Clarines in the southwest sea. Originally trained to find mineral ores beneath the sea waves by the islanders, Prince Zen, with the help of Shirayuki, had tested their capability as messenger birds for the kingdom in order to save them from being hunted down by the new lord of the island as beautiful prey with feathers to be prized. The test had been successful, though not without mishap, and now the soldiers of Clarines had a messenger bird squad, which Zen had secretly trained with. If a messenger bird had come to Obi from Zen, it would have been Zen's personal bird. He must have been worried by their lateness and at the arrival of a report, rather than two of the people he loved and called friends. Shirayuki sighed. As much as she loved Zen, on occasion she wished he would worry just a little bit less. After all, nothing had happened to _them_ , they were just helping to take care of someone who needed their help.

 _Well, perhaps if I am more honest with myself, I am not really required to stay, it is true. This is not Castle Wilant, so it is out of my jurisdiction. There is the field surgeon and even the village girl, Alise, who can watch over Miss Ilena. But Obi has taken responsibility for this investigation as well, even going so far as to take it directly to Zen's attention. I am sure the captain and his men could handle the investigation. But I wonder why…_ "Obi, why did you bring this case so quickly to Zen's attention?"

"Ah, even when tired, Mistress is still sharp, eh?" Obi attempted a slight deflection by teasing. He'd been looking at the still-unconscious Miss Ilena and the question drew his attention back. Seeing his Mistress would not be quite so easily turned from her quest, he continued vaguely, "Well, such things as lords who will not act as lords are things Master wishes to directly address himself, and we have here a valuable informant full of proofs. I should think if I had not done it I would have received a super scolding when we returned. While I do like Master's scoldings so, his super scoldings are a bit … severe." Obi shuddered remembering the few he had received - most of them because of the Mistress herself, but she didn't need to know that.

"You _like_ his scoldings, Obi?" Shirayuki asked, her eyes wide.

Obi grinned back. "Of course. They let me know Master loves me." He continued to grin, seeing he'd managed to confuse her yet again. Plus having the hidden distraction win out was always a pleasure. Mistress was still so innocent, even though she and Master had promised themselves to each other. _What is it now...almost five years ago? Isn't that too long to keep the innocence going, Master? Will you really make me force your hand in this matter?_ Obi had threatened, only half-teasingly, on more than one occasion to take his Mistress away from his Master because of the slow deliberate machinations of royalty and lords, but really. Master was going to get forced into marrying some girl he neither knew nor cared for, likely within a year, if these two didn't pick up the pace. _Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened,_ Obi thought unhappily, his good mood gone again. He sighed inwardly. _Really, I can't leave their sides, but there are times that it's such trouble._ "Well, Mistress seems to enjoy his scoldings as well," he put a knowing smile on his face as he responded to her.

Shirayuki put her hand to her chest, her hand slightly clutched - a subconscious defensive move she made whenever she felt insecure or frightened. "No, not really," she said weakly.

"Well, then," Obi put his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers, and stretched, then leaving his hands behind his head he looked at his Mistress from the corner of his eye, "I guess Mistress had better take the other bed. Obi will take the chair and keep watch over both Mistress and Miss Steward. We weren't expecting to stay overnight anyway so nothing's been prepared. This should be sufficient if Mistress approves."

Giving her the reward of remaining close to her patient seemed to do the trick. Shirayuki nodded once and obediently climbed into the second bed, only pausing to take off her shoes. "Wake me if anything changes, Obi."

"Sure thing! Good night, Mistress."

"G'night," she managed to mumble before falling quickly to sleep.

Shirayuki had learned to fall asleep quickly while working odd and long hours at the research facility in Lyrias in the far northwest of Wilant, Clarines. Obi knew it well. It wasn't like they slept in the same room often - in fact it was rather the opposite - but Obi had always found it difficult to sleep. It had started when he was very young and it had been reinforced by his time in the underworld. It still hadn't really changed since he'd given his reins to Master. Castles made him nervous, and when he and Mistress were away, there was only him to watch over her. The evening he'd been unable to prevent her from being kidnapped, after promising Master he'd keep her safe, still haunted him. That had been from a castle as well, though admittedly a foreign one.

Master, his other aids Mr. Mitsuhide and Miss Kiki, Obi himself, the First Prince of Tanbarun, and several others had all been required to fetch her back safely. He wasn't about to let it happen again, so he often stayed awake, or relied on the thieves trait of being on alert while sleeping, when they were out of the castle. And he always took a room next to hers. With the precise cat-like hearing that went with all of his other cat-like traits, he had memorized and categorized all the sounds she made as she prepared for bed, slept, woke, and prepared for her day. That way he would always be alerted if anything odd would happen in her room and he be needed immediately.

This room might perhaps be the most dangerous room they could stay in in that village, since the Earl would be likely to send in assassins at some point. But tonight Mistress would sleep easier close to her patient and he would be more at ease being able to keep his eyes and ears on both young women.

Obi slid immediately from light sleep into still alertness. A muttering noise nearby had awakened him. He waited without motion for the sound to repeat itself. The candle was out, of course, but there was faint light from the town hall room seeping around the edges of the door. It was enough for him to see that everything in the room was as it had been when he had dozed off. He heard the two guards at the door shift slightly to relieve tired cramping muscles. Still third watch, then. Probably the early hours, maybe two or three hours after midnight. A faint groan - _coming from Miss Steward, Mistress doesn't make noise when she sleeps_ \- followed again by a mutter like what had woken him.

Allowing his knife edge awareness to ease, but keeping carefully alert, Obi slipped one of his throwing daggers silently into his hand and carefully crept up to the bed Ilena lay on. He listened closely as Ilena slipped further into this state of talking in her sleep.

"No, Master, please! … Please, stop. ...Please...!" Ilena's face held pain.

Well, the pain wasn't that much of a surprise. She probably _was_ in quite a bit of pain. The pain of her current ordeal was surely causing her sleeping mind to remember a thing she would rather forget. Obi replaced his dagger and waited, but no further words were forthcoming. Then, he noticed Ilena's breathing was a bit ragged. He shifted so the light from around the door reflected better off her face. There, shining on her face...!

If anyone had been able to see it, on his face they would have seen cold, hard anger. But the finger that reached out and brushed away the tears from her's was infinitely gentle. Ilena's mouth moved, but no sound came from it. Then she was still, once again succumbing to unconsciousness. The remainder of Obi's night was restless and full of his own dark thoughts.

-o-o-o-

Zen reigned in his white horse at the top of the last of the rolling hills between Castle Wilant and the beginning of the snow covered rocky mountains that were the north border of Wilant, Clarines. He'd outrun his aides and the now-required security detail, but he could see they were just coming out of the valley and heading up the slope behind him. He was glad to see that his close aides and personal knights, Mitsuhide and Kiki whom he considered friends, would reach him ahead of the security detail. He scowled. It had always been his way to escape when frustrated, but it was even more difficult now that he held the position of Regent of Wilant. Even a short one or two day trip required more than just the two aides, who had been all that followed him since he had been given Mitsuhide. It was suffocating sometimes, having to follow protocol. He would have liked for at least this trip to have been just the three of them.

Kiki had arrived back at his side within the last week, while Shirayuki had been away on her pharmacy business. After the debacle a year ago in which Mitsuhide had been framed for injuring several lords who were potential suitors for Kiki, who was the heir to the Earldom on the other side of the lands of Castle Wilant from their current position, he had lost her constant support. He'd already by that time kept her over the originally agreed upon five years by nearly three years, but even so, it was still difficult to let her return to the duties to which she was required to go. The agreement for now was that during the deep frozen time of the winter, when travel was severely restricted by the weather, Kiki would go to her father to be trained in the duties of becoming the lord and administrator of the Earldom. During times of nicer weather she would travel between the two so that when Zen had need he would have both of his quite capable swordsmen by his side but her father would also have her to introduce her to the land of the Earldom and its people.

Glancing at them one more time before turning to face the valley and its village on the other side, Zen wondered once again what had been the agreement between Mitsuhide and Kiki. They had been partners at his back for so long they trusted no one else, really. While Mitsuhide was really dense when it came to matters of the heart, and Kiki severely restrained, it had been no secret to him for quite some time that Kiki loved Mitsuhide and intended to make him her lord husband, even if he might refuse the title of Earl. Mitsuhide had been given to Zen when he was in the rebellious stages of his childhood by his lord brother, then-First Prince Izana, and turned him around. Mitsuhide, who had hoped to serve by the side of Izana, had at first served Zen for his love of Izana, but had quickly come to love Zen as well. He would not willingly, nor easily, be pried from his position as top aide and second big brother and shield.

Though it would be difficult to have both of them leave his side, what really mattered to Zen was their happiness. He wasn't sure they were that right now, though. Zen had only been able to assume it had been a neutral parting at best before winter set in. Kiki had kept her emotions locked tightly away as usual when they left her with the Earl on the way to the castle for Zen to take the position of Regent, though she had surprisingly embraced them both before sending them off. When they arrived at Castle Wilant, Mitsuhide had thrown himself, alongside Zen, into the work of beginning in a new place. He still hadn't said anything, though occasionally Zen had caught him staring into space with a perplexed expression, muttering to himself quietly, so potentially the partners had at least talked. He actually hoped it wouldn't be too much longer before Mitsuhide made a decision and talked with him.

A slightly queasy feeling of unease came over Zen as he looked down upon the village of Osterly below him where another relationship was a bit unsteady. Shirayuki had not minded that he was in the main too busy to spend much time with her. That was nothing new for the two of them. They were both glad they had been assigned together to Wilant Castle. She had been busy getting used to the new pharmacy arrangement, though it was eased by the fact that she was still working with her one-time trainer then research partner, now boss, Wilant Head Court Pharmacist Ryuu. It was Zen that was the problem, really. Not only had he been trying to get the lords of Wilant to fully accept him, train up new aides to replace Kiki (it was going to take more than one to replace her efficiency, apparently, and he was having difficulty finding anyone that was a good match for him and Mitsuhide), but he was having trouble coming up with the next step in making it possible for Shirayuki be able to stand by his side as an accepted Princess of Clarines (or even Wilant).

He was determined to make it happen, and his brother Izana, now King for four years, had been his ally in having Shirayuki perform tasks that put her in front of the lords of Wilant. So far that had been only in the capacity of Court Pharmacist, the path Shirayuki herself had chosen, and that wasn't sufficient for the lords to be willing for her to be added to the list of acceptable potential wives that still sat inside his desk. The pressure was again mounting for him to at least begin having marriage interviews with the ladies on the list. If he couldn't come up with the next step in strengthening Shirayuki's position, he would have to submit again, like he'd had to once roughly three years ago. He'd had the interview with Kiki in secret to protect her, her name being on the list protecting him at the time also. He wouldn't be able to repeat that. Really it was very complicated, this part of being a Prince.

His brother had married for convenience quite obediently, a woman of good pedigree, training, and beauty great enough to match Izana's own radiance. (It was often said when they were together that they were a match so pleasing on the eyes one could not look at them together very long.) From what Zen could see, that was all that it was. Maybe his brother was being soft on him in letting him try to marry for love, but that didn't mean the King could wave his hand and make it happen by ordering the lords to accept it. But what was the next step? Izana was surely waiting to see what move Zen would make, testing him yet again to see if he was still serious about his commitment to that path. What should he do next? _Argh! It's so frustrating!_

"That's quite the scowl, Zen," Kiki said, pulling her horse to a stop beside her young liege, though truly she wasn't much older. "You'll scare the guards."

Zen pulled a face at her as Mitsuhide came up to a stop on his other side. "Was the run not sufficient, Zen?" Mitsuhide's question was spoken blandly, but for Mitsuhide it was a cold comment. Normally he would have begun his kindly scolding before even reaching Zen's side.

Zen, seeing the other guards rapidly approaching, looked at him with barely recognizable mild surprise wondering what his two aides might have said to each other after he kicked his horse into a gallop and left them behind. They had all been together long enough that Zen recognized that Mitsuhide's anger was not really because Zen had run off ahead of the rest. Mitsuhide had come to expect such things out of Zen from a long time ago. It was the only small rebellion Zen still allowed himself, and he had been learning proper restraint. After all, he'd stopped at the top of the hill, still within sight of his guard, rather than continuing on into the village as he would have before and during the early years that Shirayuki was with them.

Mitsuhide sighed briefly and gave him a half-bow from the saddle. "My apologies, Zen."

Zen looked from Mitsuhide to Kiki and back again. "I hope the two of you can resolve this soon." Both aides looked down meekly, unwilling to look at each other or him. Zen sighed, turning back to face Osterly. Such open repentance only meant they had actually argued, even if it had been only a few words. His mood was certainly not improving much, even for all he was out in the open world and had been riding for more than half the day. He shrugged one shoulder, an expression his aides recognized as irritation bordering on anger, and urged his horse down the hill towards the village and the mountains rising up behind it. "Let's go."

Kiki commanded her horse to follow after Zen, naturally falling into her usual position. She snuck a brief glance at Mitsuhide. His stiff back, riding half-way between her and the Prince when he would normally be in stride with her, his cold comment to Zen, and his silence. All these things telling her loudly that she had offended him by her comment, though no offence was meant. Rather she had been trying to tell him that she missed being with them. She stifled the sad sigh that threatened to escape.

With the guards there, they were all three wearing their public court faces, of course. The ones that gave little to no true emotion away, yet spoke volumes with the faintest of expressions. Those masks Zen and she had learned from birth and Mitsuhide had learned standing behind Zen. If anything was the most frustrating for her, it was that it was obvious there was little opportunity for Zen to be just Zen with the people he cared about the most. With the additional guard required when he left the castle, the additional people being trained who either could not or would not accept his preferred casual manner in his office, and all of the worries weighing on him, he was just not being able to find moments to relax.

Normally, Shirayuki would have been a place of refuge for him, but Mitsuhide had confided to Kiki earlier that week in a rare moment they had been alone. She had asked after Shirayuki and Mitsuhide had told her that just before Shirayuki had left on her current assignment, Zen had made one complaint too many to her and she had snapped, firmly telling him that, "If you have the time to complain to me so much about the people around you who are trying to do their best for you, you have the time to properly train them." Such a harsh statement from Shirayuki to Zen was rare as Zen spent a lot of time trying to live so as to avoid them - a good thing from his aide's perspectives. That he had slipped up and said something to earn it meant he must truly be nearing wits end. It wasn't too hard to guess that Zen had probably, at least for a day or two if he still wasn't, hung onto his pride. Not that it wasn't reasonable. There were times when it would be appropriate for the one he loved to show sympathy for his difficulties so that he could for a brief moment lay the burden down. Well, it was likely the same problem for both sets of couples. Things were changing around them and unsettled, but they stumbled in the ability to talk properly about them. _Ah, I'm in complete agreement with Zen. I hope this can all be resolved soon, too._

-o-o-o-

Obi had managed to coax his Mistress out of the little room long enough for them to breathe fresh air. He had been afraid she was about to walk on top of him for pacing, though she had been restraining herself. The room was rather small for such a thing as pacing with two beds and a desk and chair taking up most of the space, along with three bodies. He had alternated between being in the room and talking with the other soldiers of the garrison and villagers who came to visit together in the hall. Shirayuki had remained in the room, studying her current herbal book after making up another tincture to coax down Ilena's throat. Obi had watched closely so as to learn how she had managed to get liquid down the throat of a person flat on their back and unconscious - normally a dangerous idea. It had been mostly a process of infinite patience as only tiny amounts of liquid could be dosed at a time.

As Shirayuki stretched her arms above her head and took a deep breath of the spring mountain air, Obi called out. She turned to see him looking away from the majestic mountains, his hand shading his eyes.

"Is that Master and his men?" He pointed to where he was looking. "There, just coming down the hill?"

Shirayuki strained to see. "I guess it could be," she frowned, not really sure she was seeing horses moving on the hill or just wishful thinking. "You have very good eyes, Obi, if you can see them from this far." She turned back to look at him, then her eyes popped. "Ah! Zen!" She froze for a moment her face going pale, then red, as she remembered the last time she and Zen had spoken before she left. "Obi!" She turned an exasperated expression on her teasing friend.

"Oh. My bad." he raised his hands. "Here they are." He turned to Zen and the cadre following him, a smile on his face, watching as they came across the open space between the stables and the town hall. Zen's gaze was as hungry as usual when he looked at Shirayuki, but his face was still darkened. Obi pasted his open smile on his face for all he was worth, but worry crept into his heart. If Master was still angry with Mistress this meeting would not go as well he would hope. The worry relaxed a bit as Master's eyes moved to look at him and a light came across his face. Ah good. If it wasn't possible for Mistress to calm Master, at least Master was willing to be cajoled by Obi. That meant it wasn't all lost - just that Master was sufficiently burdened that a happy friendly face was a rare joy today. _Well, but really, it isn't good for Master to look at me like that and not Mistress._ "Welcome, Master. If you keep looking at me like that, I'll have to steal you away from Mistress. Would you like a hug?" Obi spread his arms wide as if to embrace Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki all at once, and tried to look alluring.

That definitely got the reaction he wanted. Zen stopped in the midst of his stride and he was unable to restrain his usual look of pleased revulsion whenever Obi teased him this way. _Pleased because he's happy the hug was offered. Revulsion because Mistress is the only one he sees that way._ Obi sighed sadly and began lowering his arms. Before he could complete the motion he was totally caught off guard. _Some_ one had thrown their arms around him.

"Pfft!" Zen was holding his hand over his mouth "Your expression, Obi!"

But Obi wasn't liking the expression he was seeing on Mitsuhide's face. He put his hands down and gently pushed away the person holding him and looked down. Miss Kiki was the second shortest of the group after Shirayuki, and this was most definitely Miss Kiki having just done a _very_ uncharacteristically Miss Kiki action. She was smiling her slight smile and her eyes were bright. _Tears?! That is even less Miss Kiki-like!_

"You're expression is indeed most rewarding, Obi," Kiki said.

Obi allowed his surprised look to fade into wariness. He made a show of looking her up and down. "Is this really our Miss Kiki, back from the barrens of her home? What a strange thing to have happen to this poor heart. And here I thought you hated me."

Kiki gave him a proud look and raised her head slightly. "And shall I never do it again, then?"

"Ah," Obi raised his hands in negation and defence. "Well," he looked up at Mitsuhide again around her, "I think that perhaps you should reserve them for the one who really wants them, eh?" _Ah, that isn't a good thing. A cold shock to the system, followed by feigned indifference. Ah, Mr. Mitsuhide and Miss Kiki. What are you two doing?_

Thankfully the interaction was interrupted by Shirayuki flinging herself into Kiki's arms with a cry of delight. "Kiki! It is so good to see you again!"

 _Thankfully?! Ara! Is that really better, Mistress?_ Shirayuki was also not known for demonstrative acts of affection. It looked like Master had just received a punch at the belt-line.

Zen recovered with shake of his head and a small smile played on his lips. "I got it, you three. Good grief, I _must_ be in a state to make even Kiki and Shirayuki join in on Obi's jokes."

 _Hah,_ Obi sighed inwardly. _If only it were that simple. I do not think the ladies are joking so much as you might think._ But at Zen's words the whole atmosphere seemed to become less oppressive. _As is often the case, Master can calm the seriousness that rises all too often in Mr. Mitsuhide._

Zen placed his hand on Shirayuki's hooded head. "It is good to see you again, Shirayuki. Have you been well?"

Shirayuki smiled up at Zen. "Yes! It is good to see you and Mitsuhide and Kiki again."

 _Ah, there is the light I was looking for,_ Obi smiled to himself as he drank in the sight of the pair greeting each other in their usual happy but awkward and restrained manner.

As Kiki leaned in to talk quietly to him, Obi braced himself for one of her typical biting comments. Instead she shocked him again. "Thank you for being here for Zen, Obi." He stared at her, seeing her face was soft, giving truth to the statement, and for a moment her eyes were bright again before she turned away hastily.

He looked once more at Mitsuhide, but the man was warmly returning Shirayuki's welcome and had not seen. Was there more going on at the castle while they were away than he would have thought? Certainly, the stress and cabin fever had been bad there just before the spring thaws had released them from its confines. Or was there something more going on? He would definitely need to corner Miss Kiki when Mr. Mitsuhide wasn't watching and press her for information. At the very least to understand where her tears came from, since Mr. Mitsuhide wasn't at all capable of it. As for himself, he felt the usual calm from being in his Master's presence well up in him again and settle like a warm blanket over his own dark worries, though they would not calm completely. Though Master had never demanded that Obi tell him words about his past, he would have to find the courage to speak them, he knew. Else they would eat at this happiness he had finally found.

Zen turned and looked at Obi, his face recomposing into the careful neutrality he carried everywhere he went in public, but his heart seemed lighter finally. "Obi, I would like to see Earl College's steward first, please. Then we will go and speak with the garrison commander."

"Yes, Master," Obi bowed slightly and gestured with his hand towards the town hall and it's room with two attendant guards. It wasn't all that unusual to the five to have this kind of interaction when meeting, so they were not affected by the fact it had been in public, but several of the onlookers, including garrison soldiers, were having difficulty keeping their eyes in their sockets, or the grins off their faces. "It is a small room, though."

"That is fine, Obi." Zen nodded at the guards as he passed them to enter the room Ilena was recovering in. Obi followed him in.

"Kiki, did you know that Earl College's steward was a female?" Shirayuki asked Kiki as the two of them followed Mitsuhide into the room. Obi jumped slightly at the question and Zen looked back at him, his eyes kind. Deciding to hang on to those kind, brilliant blue eyes as his life preserver, Obi ignored Kiki's answer. However, because he was focused on looking at his Master's eyes, he missed seeing the shadow of concern that came over Zen's face.

"Obi," Master's voice was reassuring, "What has happened here since you sent your report to me?"

Standing at a relaxed attention, the bed containing Ilena to his right, and continuing to stare only in his Master's eyes in an unfocused way, he gave his report smoothly. He hoped it came across as militaristically trained, but as he spoke he could only feel the way he had often felt when giving reports of completed jobs while standing in front of a person he had received much darker orders from. _Divorce yourself from your emotions. Don't see the person on the other side. Expect swift payment or punishment at the end. Show only a relaxed exterior that is proof of internal strength and confidence, but doesn't provoke._ It was a brief report. Even the further questioning he had made of the villagers about their overlord had not revealed much more than the garrison leaders had said the day before.

"Thank you, Obi," Zen said when the report was completed. Obi bowed slightly, his right hand coming to his breast formally, then returning to his left hand behind his back.

Zen turned to Shirayuki. She looked guilty and he smiled gently for her. "Shirayuki, it is not good, nor necessary for you to sleep here. Kiki and Mitsuhide will go with you to the garrison and requisition for you and Obi sleeping quarters there. That is if you wish to stay. I will have Obi stay for the two weeks it will take for Miss Ilena to be moved to garrison quarters, and maybe for the two weeks more to move her to the castle, but you could return with us." Obi relaxed just slightly.

"Ah, well." Shirayuki's guilt and desire warred within her, and therefore in her eyes and face. "I realize that I am not a surgeon, nor really in a position of responsibility here, but I already would like to continue to do what I can here. Ryuu is…"

"Ryuu is handling the castle pharmacy easily with the assistants he has now. With the spring release the number of cases is diminished." At Shirayuki's wide curious eyes, Zen smiled. "I spoke with him last evening. Obi made it fairly clear in his report that you would likely wish to see this through to the end. Ryuu has sent you a packet of herbs that Mitsuhide is holding for you."

As Shirayuki took the package from Mitsuhide, she smiled happily at him and Zen. "Thank you, Zen." She bowed slightly. "I will do my best here, then."

Zen nodded at her, still smiling gently. This determination and care of others of hers was an endearment for them all. It would be good for her to be here with Obi, even if she could be of no further use to Miss Ilena, though she would surely still be of benefit there as well. Mitsuhide deferred to Shirayuki and allowed her to exit the room first, then turned back and looked at Zen briefly. Zen nodded slightly at Mitsuhide and Kiki's unspoken question as they obviously looked at Obi's back, then him, allowing the concern in his heart to be reflected in their faces. Obi was definitely acting strange.

At the sound of the closing of the door, Obi began trembling. "Obi," Zen called softly, placing his hand on his sworn man's shoulder, feeling the trembling that was no longer controllable.

Obi looked at his Master with a torn expression, still looking for safety in the blue eyes he loved. "Master," his voice was rough but soft, "I left her behind. I abandoned her!"

Careful to control the emotions he showed Obi, Zen could only watch in amazement as the man who had stood strong in even the agonizing period of Shirayuki's double kidnapping, began to cry. His tears were silent and seemed to be unnoticed. There was only agony and a cry for salvation in the eyes that unwavered from his own. _Here, in this place, at this time…. It is only right._ Zen moved forward, wrapped his arms around Obi, and held him.

Only then did Obi begin to sob quietly into his Master's shoulder, his body wracked with deep grief.


	2. A Person Obi Once Knew

**CHAPTER 2 A Person Obi Once Knew**

Confusion roiled within Zen. Obi was the sort who had always hidden his true emotions behind steel walls, even though some of them leaked out every now and again. He had never shown any signs of grief before, other than his darkly burning anger when he had been unable to prevent Shirayuki from being kidnapped from the castle at Tanbarun, and then again when they had learned she had been double kidnapped by the female pirate captain, Umihebi. Even Zen had cried, though only a little, when they had finally rescued Shirayuki. But for Obi to have completely succumbed to this grief…. Zen was glad he had come right away. He'd come to see Shirayuki, of course, but this was something more than expected. Who was this young woman, roughly in her mid twenties - probably between his own age and Obi's - who could cause Obi's emotional resolve to crumble? What was their background, and relationship? And...what was he supposed to do now? How long should he hold and comfort his friend before it became an embarrassment to them both?

 _Of all the things…!_ Zen rolled his eyes at himself. He was only really asking the question because Obi had to keep teasing him about just such a situation, like only fifteen minutes ago. Just that had caused him to briefly doubt his own judgement. _Ah, yes. There is always a little bit of truth to all Obi says, even if it is teasing. But had I hugged him then, that would have been a bad time given his fragility in this place. Maybe it was no wonder the panic on his face was so desperate when Kiki grabbed him out of the blue. Always he is thinking about others in what he says and does while deflecting them from himself._ In his own way, Obi has his own depth of tenderness, like Mitsuhide. It is likely this woman, at some point, had a place within those same depths. Zen felt Obi begin to relax and gently let him go, but left one hand on Obi's shoulder as they had begun.

Looking at Miss Ilena while waiting for Obi to fully regain his composure, he realized that their dark features were similar. Black straight hair, a slightly darker complexion than most Clarineese, a face, even in repose, that spoke of many hidden secrets she never let anyone see. Might she be a sister, or beloved cousin? Being a high ranking member of the household she might be such a thing as a distant cousin, but it would be strange for a daughter of the house not to be married out. Besides, after doing his research on who Obi was, he knew there was no daughter of the house of College that would be this age. Obi shifted slightly under his hand, bring his attention back to his friend.

Obi was looking at him again expectantly, his demeanor much calmer. Zen smiled gently. "Shall we sit, then?" He moved to the one chair, turning it to face the center of the room. He had expected Obi to sit on the empty bed, the way he would sit on the settee in Zen's bedroom on nights he couldn't sleep and Zen was still awake. But not finding him there, his surprised eyes continued to travel around the room until they found him perched carefully on the edge of Miss Ilena's bed, one leg tucked under the other that dangled towards the ground. Now that he had let the wall crumble, it looked like he didn't want to be too far from her. Well, perhaps that was a reaction to the cause of his grief. Likely it would take some time before Obi was recovered from this nearly unconscious need to be near Miss Ilena.

Zen could relate. He hadn't wanted Shirayuki out of his sight for a while after they'd finally rescued her, either. Well, it looked like his earlier decision to have Obi stay near her, as well as his understanding that Shirayuki wouldn't likely leave her either, meant that the arrangement already decided on was sufficient. Remembering the chair in his hand, he looked at it briefly, then settled it so he was facing Obi and sat down in it resolutely. Obi needed his strength as a Master now, not as a friend. Sitting up straight, he looked Obi in the eyes and ordered firmly, "Let's have it, then."

Obi took a breath and rubbed the back of his neck, making his always short unruly hair stand up even more so. "Ah, I don't know everything about her or her past, only the parts I was involved in, of course." Zen nodded. _Of course._

"I don't remember much about her parents, only that they were distant relatives, through her father, it seems. They'd come through and stopped by for a visit when she was about five or six and I was about eight. It was short, I think just overnight, but as soon as she saw me she grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let me go. She kept telling everyone I was 'hers'. That's all I really remember of that event, because I was annoyed at being 'claimed' by a little girl I didn't even know, though I had to be polite to her - in public anyway." Obi grinned wryly, putting his hand back in his lap. He looked at it for a moment, then curled his fingers into a slight fist, his grin fading.

"The next time I saw her was about three years later. She arrived at the earldom manor with only a maid this time. My grandfather was still lord of the house at the time, and the maid spoke privately with him. After that, the two lived with us, though the circumstances of why or how it came about were never explained. It was just the old man's decision and the rest of us lived with it." Obi took a breath, briefly closing his eyes. "It was one of his last decisions before he died a short while later, finally giving in to the poison administered by my father. While the old man was harsh, at least he wasn't mean spirited. After his death, Ilena was the only thing that kept the household - me - going."

Obi shifted, looking at Zen. Finding strength in his Master's straightforward expectant expression and blue eyes that sparkled even in this dingy room, he continued. "Ilena had an inner fire, a strength, then, that was above and beyond her years. She also had this way of seeing to the core of… people… things… issues. She wouldn't ever complain about being lied to, but not even my father could withstand her eyes that could see through to the truth. He banished her from the main house, unable to live with those eyes following him everywhere." Obi shrugged. "For myself, I followed those eyes."

"There were many that would go to her when they'd been punished, when they couldn't see a way to live any more. She would hold them to her, one small hand clutched in their hair. Sometimes they would just cry. Sometimes they would talk and she would listen or respond. Always she helped them return to life, somehow. While at the start it was children, older and younger, whom she comforted, I often marveled that eventually even adults of all ages were coming to her. I think I was the only one who may have known that, though." Obi looked up at the ceiling past Zen's head, remembering.

"Though she never brought up that she had 'claimed' me years before, the first nights at our place, she would always find a way to be near me, by my side if she could, even going so far as to reach out and grasp my sleeve at my Grandfather's funeral. The first time she saw me flee from the main house after I'd been punished by my father, she sought me out - or rather hunted me down. I had the best hiding places. She had to learn how to track me to find me. She never gave up looking that day, not until she found me." Obi closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. "I watched her pass me about ten times from my hiding place without her ever knowing I was there. Then she stopped, looking at the tracks, and the area around her, then closed her eyes." Obi's eyes, though closed, were transfixed on his vision of the young Ilena. "She said, quietly so we wouldn't be discovered, 'Wellesley, I will find you. Don't come out. No matter what, I will always come find you'."

Obi's breath caught. "Ah, she's done it again, hasn't she." He ran one hand through his hair and held his head. Zen waited patiently while the pain rose again in Obi, then subsided.

"She slowly scanned the whole area, I was certain with both her heart and her eyes. Though she never stopped the slow scan, I knew as soon as she had seen me. For some reason, I couldn't move, could hardly breathe, as if I was her prey and she had targeted me. But it wasn't a thing to be afraid of - rather a pleasure to have been finally discovered. She made sure there was no one in the area to see where she went, then she walked away and disappeared. I was so disappointed. I put my head down on my arms and vowed to not come out until past dinner. Then, suddenly, there was a pair of arms around me. Ah!" Obi stopped and laughed. "It was a lot like when Miss Kiki grabbed me today."

Zen allowed himself a small smile.

Smiling a little sadly at the memory, Obi continued. "The shock of the surprise and my relief that she had kept her promise, and even kept my hiding place a secret - her hair was filled with leaves and the dirt on her elbows and knees told me she'd found where I'd come in from and how I'd gotten there - like with Master today, I couldn't hold the tears in. The pain came rushing out of me, into those small arms, their warmth replacing it in my broken heart." Obi looked away from Zen. Softly he said, "Master is very much like her." Then he looked back down at his hands and took another breath. It looked like he was working up the courage to finish the story.

"It's not that I want to excuse myself. I know I made the wrong decision that day to not find her and take her with me and I have that to my regret." Obi's eyes came up to meet Zen's. His following words were delivered simply, as if giving one of his reports. "Even before she came, I was having great difficulty under the oppression of my family. All the men of the College line have an inborn brutality and no one is spared from it. After she came, I was able to survive a while longer, but with the death of the only protection I'd had in my Grandfather, then my eldest brother finally lashing out at my father just over a year later, killing him in a surprise win that shocked even my brother…. He threatened the whole household with death if anyone breathed a word against the tale that it had been a sudden illness that killed my father. Even though everyone swore over and over to him, even myself, eventually a madness overtook him. In particular he seemed to believe that his brothers were plotting against him, though I, at least, had no intention of ever running that house. The position had come to mean a curse to me." Obi tensed slightly.

"The night he entered our second brother's room and killed him as he slept next to his new bride, that was the night I escaped out my window and left to never return. I knew instinctively that if I did not move immediately, I was next. He was already on his way by the time I hit the ground." Obi closed his eyes again. "I had thought I would never see my one source of warmth again. She who had tried to be my strength, and the strength of the whole household. One small pair of shoulders that kept choosing to carry such a burden. I looked back once, wishing I could have brought her with me, knowing I couldn't return." He paused for a breath.

"Many times during the following dark years, as I lived out the family curse myself, I would rest my head in the darkness of night on my arms and feel those arms around me again. And when they had held me long enough, I could finally sleep, even if only a little. I didn't believe she could continue to survive there. No one really did for very long, though close family was more likely to die than the servants. So it really felt to me as if she had died, and was finally free to come to me. I suppose it is a rather perverse pleasure to think that she might have been given a way to escape, even if it was only in death." Obi shuddered. "But,..."

He turned to look at Ilena and ran a thin thread of her long hair lightly through his fingers, as if to confirm the reality of her presence. "I cannot say her real name, but I know it is not Ilena. Like I am Obi. Her nursemaid's eyes would always follow after her, with great sadness in them. Always she was obedient to Ilena, though also her support, and Ilena went to great lengths to ensure the nursemaid was protected from the rest of the house. Perhaps it was in learning how to do that that she learned how to protect the rest of the household, as the Captain has said she has done for the last eight years. That would mean that she has been my older brother's right arm since she was roughly seventeen. Given how the family blood runs, and her inborn strengths, likely she was influencing him for many years before that. Or at least learning how to." Obi dropped his hand to the bed, shaking his head incredulously, then turned back to Zen.

Looking at his Master again, Obi said resolutely, "I believe that it is impossible to predict Earl College's intentions towards Miss Ilena. Because of the way the family madness works, he will at one time be intensely protective towards her, then at another time he will declare that she is a hinderance and should be cast off, which in the language of the family means death." He frowned. "This is why I believe we can expect both assassination attempts and kidnapping attempts. If he feels his position is threatened excessively, he will not hesitate to burn even this building down in order to prevent her from speaking. The longer she is in these unprotectable quarters, the more her life is in danger. If you wish to be able to hear the words she has to say to you, then the most careful protections must be set. I will not be comfortable with her being able to support you in cleaning up the house of College until she is safely within the walls of Castle Wilant and has declared her testimony for you before the House of Lords. And unless the Earl is imprisoned or his life ended, I will not believe she is beyond the danger of death." Zen recognized the look in Obi's eyes. It was the same burning anger, driven by a heart full of grief, that he'd had in his eyes when they were looking for Shirayuki in Tanbarun.

-o-o-o-

 _What is it? …. Men's voices … two of them, speaking softly but close by._

Breathe in. Breathe out. Not really swimming - no water in my lungs. Just the musty closed air of a small sick room.

 _Alive. ...I'm ...alive?_

Breathe in. Breathe out. Not clearing the head as much as I would like, but it seems to help some. Feels like the left hip still has the boulder on it, but underneath is a soft surface. Above, blankets.

 _A shifting … one is right here, next to me. The voice is relaxing, calming, not harsh like the Earl's._

Breathe in. Breathe out. The near voice rises and falls, ebbs and flows, like the river flowing around me and through my head.

 _Where is the other? … He is silent. Listening to the river with me. Who? Who is it? I'm alive...but am I safe?_

Breathe in. Breathe out. The panic is helping me wake a little more. To find out, I must open my eyes.

 _They will kill me!_

No. You would already be dead.

….

Breathe in. Breathe out. Take courage in hand.

 _Hurry, eyes, open! The river flow has ended!_

"Hrrgh…."

 _Ah! He jumped!_ *Thump-thump* _My heart, he will hear my heart! The other...he also moved._

Breathe in. Breathe out. Try again. Open, eyes!

 _Good, good!_

Ah. A cool hand on my hot face. A question...what?

 _A cup… poison?_

No. Water.

 _Ah, that is nice._

Swallow. Swallow again. ...Again. ...Again.

 _It is enough._

Breathe out. Breathe in. "Who?"

 _Ah, did they hear?_

The missing voice. It is kindly, but used to commanding. Neither are the Earl or any of his men, then.

 _For a time, then, ...safe._

"You are in the village hall of Osterly. You were brought here yesterday after a rock slide took your carriage. Do you remember?"

 _Osterly...is it the ...garrison commander and another? Don't tell yet. Just look._

Breathe in. Breathe out. Ah, there is the light of the room, the shadow of figures above me. *Blink* *Blink*

 _Better._

"Eh…? … Dead. Must...be...dead."

"Eh?" _The river._

"What?" _The commander ...no,..._

*Blink* *Blink* Can I raise my hand? Can I tell if my eyes lie?

 _It can't be. Such miracles do not exist in my life. Only in my dreams._

There, I can reach out.

 _I tremble. The arm is heavy._

Must confirm. Must know. First the quiet commander, glowing white. White hair, white cloak … blue eyes like the sky to be lost in.

*Blink* *Blink* Must be able to see. The water in my vision has come back. Why?

 _Ah, he has taken my hand._

"Z-e-n."

 _He is very still, the caution of the hunted/hunter. His eyes seek the eyes of the river and ask many questions._

It must be him. He does not know me. …Can we touch the other?

 _Ah!? He gives my hand to the river!?_

No, it is I am weak, he is kind.

 _.… The eyes of the lost, wondering if they have found the way home. … Can I say it?_

Say it.

 _I thought never to be able to call it again aloud, in my own hearing._

Say it. His eyes grow sad.

 _No, not that. … I cannot see again._

"Wel-les-ley."

Ah, my eyes can no longer remain open.

"I… am… home."

Obi slowly and carefully put Ilena's hand back down on the bed, lightly caressing it as he let go. He wiped the tear streaking down her temple with his thumb. Without looking at Zen, Obi asked, "Master, do you know why she calls your name?"

Zen shook his head. "I have never spoken to Miss Ilena in my life, at least within my memory."

Trying to understand something, Obi frowned. "She is said to be an exemplary servant. Even if she only saw you from a distance to recognize you is not a surprise. But to say your name familiarly.… I think caution is necessary, Master. Things about this case are not right. While I knew her as a child, I cannot know what she has actually become. I have never known anything good to come out of that place."

"You did," Zen said simply.

Obi's golden cat-eyes glinted in anger at the perceived lie. "Master, .…"

Zen held up a hand and interrupted. "I know what you did, Obi, but I also know what you have done since then and know your heart. You are good, Obi. We will have to wait and be cautious, certainly, but I think if she helped you, and if she has been indeed helping others, it is too early to judge her as being other than the same. I do not believe time changes the fundamentals of a person's heart."

"You are too kind, Master," Obi said, standing up. "Oh, yes, and she talks in her sleep, though I don't know to what extent yet."

"Did she last night?"

"Briefly."

"And?"

"...She was remembering a past pain. There was nothing of significance."

Zen could see Obi was thinking of the things he had seen for himself in that place. "I see."

"Shall we return to Mistress and the others, Master? Miss Ilena will likely not wake properly for another two days at least, or so the field surgeon said."

Zen nodded and Obi let them out, leaving the puzzle of the wounded steward behind them for now. _Why had she said she was home?_

-o-o-o-

Zen and Captain Grey discussed the matter of Ilena's safety, with Zen impressing upon his subordinate that he felt it was very important to ensure that she be able to at least give some testimony as to who she thought might have been involved.

"It may be, Captain, that she saw who it was that caused the landslide and rolled the boulder onto her. I will be leaving Obi here to receive her testimony when she is awake enough. Miss Shirayuki would like to stay as well at this time. I am inclined to allow her to stay, particularly as the Head Court Pharmacist, Ryuu, has allowed it. She should be a better choice to change the dressings and poultices for a female patient than a male field surgeon, no?" Zen smiled at the captain. They both knew it was a excuse to let Shirayuki do as she pleased. "However, because there is the possibility of foul play, I will be sure to let Shirayuki know she is not to be there overnight again. I am sorry to trouble you."

"No, Prince Zen, it is no trouble. We will be sure to protect the lady for you," the Captain left the 'who' vague on purpose. "With Sir Obi here as well, I am sure all will be well." While it might be annoying to be babysitting multiple people, things were quiet in general at the moment, and having interesting guests would help the soldiers pass the time in a slightly less rowdy manner than usual.

"Well, then thank you for your service, as always." Zen left Captain Grey and walked with Obi to find Shirayuki, Mitsuhide, and Kiki. For this night, he, his aides and his guards would also be bunked there. The trip between the garrison and the castle was less than one day, but it was too far for a single day trip.

Zen used the opportunity while he was at the garrison to do one of his usual inspections. He invited Shirayuki to go with him so they could also spend more time together while they had the opportunity.

"Ha, a working date…," Obi said as he walked behind them with Mitsuhide and Kiki.

"I suppose it is better than no date at all," said Kiki in her dry manner.

"Hm...I suppose." Obi saw that Zen and Shirayuki had stopped to talk to one of the soldiers. It looked like it might take long enough. He lagged behind, gesturing to Kiki to stay with him and let Mitsuhide go on. They stood where they could see the others, but far enough away that a quiet conversation wouldn't be overheard. Obi said to Kiki, not sure he would get anywhere with the taciturn woman, "So… What's going on that Miss Kiki feels the need to jump into Obi's arms with tears in her eyes?"

Sure enough, Kiki's expression turned hard. She was a tough nut and when she cracked, if she ever did, it wasn't to Obi. But, then, looking at Zen, her face softened slightly and her eyes creased ever so slightly with worry.

"He hasn't been getting any rest at all, has he?"

Obi looked at Zen as well. "No? Not really, I suppose. It is always difficult at the beginnings of things, though?"

"Mitsuhide took offence at a comment I made that he normally would have understood, too." She looked a little sad. "I don't think he's been getting any rest, either, and that isn't like him."

Obi looked surprised and took another look at Mitsuhide. "He's seemed normal to me. ...Except he keeps having only the air to talk to and it seems he can't find something he is looking for occasionally."

"Yeah, I've been missing them, too."

"That was surprising. It sounds like Miss Kiki has been missing Obi, too."

Kiki looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, like she did when she made snide comments. "Yeah, I have, actually. Shirayuki, too."

"Now, really, are you sure you're Miss Kiki? Ah, I'm sorry," he held up his hands. He had made her mad with that question.

She let it pass. "It's not that I mind the work of learning to be an Earl. And I'm not considering running away from my duty."

"It's just lonely, huh?" Obi said insightfully.

"Well, I guess that's it, isn't it," Kiki agreed.

"Hmm… What did Mitsuhide say?" Obi clasped his hands behind his head.

"Eh, when?"

"When you talked to him before you left, of course." Obi wasn't going to let her wiggle out of understanding.

Kiki was silent for a moment and to Obi it looked like she was trying to not cry again, though... _it wasn't likely that, right?_

"He said, 'Let's talk later, when things have settled down'." Her words came out somewhere between neutral and cold.

Obi sighed. He could imagine it was certainly said in Mitsuhide's kind, I'm-trying-to-be-helpful voice. But… "He really just doesn't understand, does he, Miss Kiki? Only having eyes full of Master is kind of sad when there is something to see right here."

Kiki looked at him, the hard eyes she showed the world still looked like they were fighting tears. "How do I make him see without hurting him?"

"Hmm?" Obi thought about that for a moment. "I think maybe you are thinking too hard. He is not someone who can be easily hurt by that."

"Obi!" Kiki was mad again and Obi was surprised by that. "He loves Zen. How can he not be hurt by being asked to leave his side?"

Obi looked at her, confused. "But, he loves Miss Kiki, too."

Kiki immediately went red and turned away from him. "No, he doesn't. Not that way." She paused for a moment, then walked away, ending the conversation.

Obi looked after her sadly for a moment before following her to catch up with the others. Apparently Miss Kiki was as blind as Mr. Mitsuhide. What a sad state they were choosing to live in.

After having dinner with the garrison soldiers, Kiki challenged Mitsuhide to a practice bout at the list. Shirayuki, not one to shirk her duties, wanted to go visit Ilena one more time before retiring for the night. Zen was torn between accompanying her and staying to watch the bout. Shirayuki turned towards him and said, "Ah, Zen, you can wait here. I won't be long. I have to change her dressings, and, well…," she blushed.

Zen looked at her puzzled a moment, then saw Obi's smirk. "Ah! That's all right!" Zen held up his hands, finally understanding that it would be an awkward modesty moment if he went.

"I'll go with Mistress," Obi said, as if to the air. By now, if he'd have not just walked off with her he'd have been worse than super scolded. Even though he missed Zen, he wasn't interested in being scolded like that tonight.

"We'll be back soon!" Shirayuki promised again.

When they reached the guarded door in the village hall, the guards said that the village girl, Alise, had already come to take care of Ilena and had left about a half-hour earlier. Shirayuki and Obi went in to check on her anyway. Shirayuki said the poultices had been done sufficiently well and was satisfied with the job Alise had done, but it made her feel superfluous again. _Maybe I should go back with Zen._ She looked around to see if there was still a cup for water in the room so she could make the herbal infusion. The cup was empty. She was about to ask Obi to go refill it, when he suddenly leaned over Ilena with his ear over her mouth.

"Mistress! Does Ilena have a heart beat?"

"What?" Shirayuki quickly stepped back to the side of the bed and picked up Ilena's hand, feeling for her pulse. They held their positions for quite some time, then looked at each other somberly.

"One breath per 4 seconds and it feels like they are slowing," reported Obi.

"Roughly 45 beats per minute and decreasing," agreed Shirayuki. "What made you check, Obi?"

"She was too still."

Shirayuki stepped back and looked at Ilena again closely. Obi was right, she looked like she was entering death. She looked back at the empty glass, picked it up and took it out of the room to where there was more light. There was still a tiny amount of liquid inside. It was hard to tell, but it looked like it was a very pale yellow. She sniffed it. There wasn't much of a smell, perhaps slightly like a dry herbal wine. She dipped her finger in and was about to taste it when Obi's hand interposed itself between her finger and her lips.

"Mistress, do you already know what this could be? Is it a poison?"

Shirayuki paused, running through everything she knew. "It isn't from any combination of herbs I know of. But, while it is mimicking a poison," She lifted the glass to the light again tilting it back and forth slightly, "It isn't one that I know of. There isn't any sheeting on the glass, and almost all of the known poisons do that. The ones that don't aren't this weak." She frowned, slightly biting her lip. "It could just be a local herb I don't know of."

Obi looked doubtful that there should be such a thing. "I will call Miss Alise and you can ask her. Wait with Miss Steward for a moment."

Shirayuki went back into the room while Obi ran off to fetch Alise. Shirayuki felt for Ilena's temperature. It was a little cool, as one might expect with the decreased blood flow. Measuring the heart rate she found that it was indeed decreasing. It looked like at a rate of one less heart beat per five minutes or so. If it wasn't going to cause death, it looked like it was at least having a hibernative effect. Shirayuki checked the pulse, breathing rate, and temperature every five minutes, documenting the slowing of both, hoping to find that it would stabilize at a baseline rate.

Obi finally returned to Ilena's sick room with Alise. "Alise, do you know why Miss Ilena has entered a state of hibernation?" Shirayuki asked.

Alise's eyes went round. "No, Lady Shirayuki, I do not."

"What did you do when you came here earlier?"

"Well…, I just did what we usually do. I changed the poultices and cleaned the wound. The swelling of most of the bruises is decreased, so I was thinking that things were going well. Is she not just sleeping?"

Shirayuki shook her head. "Her pulse and breathing rate have been decreasing steadily." She picked up the glass on the table. "What did you give her to drink?"

"Oh, no, Lady Shirayuki! Please, you don't think I gave her something? It was just water, really, as usual! I promise!" Alise became frightened. "I really wouldn't...!"

"It's okay, Miss Alise," Obi said reassuringly. "Mistress is just trying to figure it out. But if you could, maybe you could take us to where you got the water from?"

"Y-yes! Of course." Alise was holding her hands tightly in front of her chest.

"Wait just a bit," Shirayuki said. "I'd like to see if the rate of decrease has stopped yet."

Obi and Alise waited with Shirayuki as she continued to check the statistics for another fifteen minutes. Shirayuki wrote some final notes in the medical diary she was keeping on her desk, then rose.

"Let's go, then Miss Alise," Obi held the door for the two young ladies.

Shirayuki said as they walked, "The heart rate stabilized at about forty beats per minute and the breathing at one breath per five and a half seconds, roughly. We should come back and check on it again." Obi nodded.

Alise led them to a small home not too far from the village hall and invited them into the kitchen. There, she showed them a bucket one fourth full of water next to the sink. "May I have a glass of the water?" Shirayuki asked. Alise nodded and hurriedly dipped out a glass of water and handed it to Shirayuki. Shirayuki looked at it through the glass. It did have a faint yellow tinge to it, not too unusual for water that had been drawn from a well and sat in a bucket since morning. She smelled it. Again, it had that faintly herbal wine smell. This time, as it looked like she was about to drink it, Obi slipped it neatly out of her hand.

"Here, Miss Alise, you wouldn't mind tasting it first, would you, for me?"

Alise looked at him, frightened. She shook her head and held her hand out for the glass. Obi handed it to her and she drank several gulps from it and handed it back. Obi took the opportunity to look at it closely and smell it as well, then took a small sip. After thinking about it for a minute, and watching Alise's reaction, he handed the glass back to Shirayuki. "Tastes like water to me," Obi said.

Shirayuki set the glass down and looked more closely at the bucket holding the water. The slightly wine like smell was coming from the bucket itself. "What is this bucket made out of?" Shirayuki asked. "And where did you draw the water from?"

"Eh? Um...well...I think one of the local trees, but I don't know which one. It was made by the village woodworker. You could ask him. His name is Tyler. His house is the one near the woods just before you reach the garrison. And the water is just from the village well, there outside the hall."

"Hhmm. Shall we pay him a visit on our way back, then Mistress?" Obi asked. Shirayuki nodded. "And you'll stay here, like a good girl, yes Miss Alise? I'd hate to find it difficult to find you tomorrow."

"Ah...ah...of course!" Alise's voice squeaked up an octave in fear.

Obi patted her on her head and smiled. "Good, good."

They stopped by to take Ilena's pulse and record it and her breathing rate again. Shirayuki was relieved that it was still the same as when they left. They stopped by the well and Obi drew up the bucket and put some of the water in the water skin he carried with him, emptying it out first of the old contents. Shirayuki tasted it. It only tasted like the water of the area, lacking the hint of herbal wine. "The water is water. The difference does seem to be the bucket."

"Then shall we be going to visit this Tyler?" Obi escorted Shirayuki away from the well.

After asking at one of the houses near the woods, they were directed to the woodworker's house. He was cordial and explained that the tree he made buckets from, preferably, was a yellow hawthorne, and that it did tend to leach small amounts of its yellow color into the water over the course of a day. The villagers had been drinking the water from his buckets for over twenty years but this was the first he had heard of such a thing as a person going into a state of hibernation. They thanked him and left. Shirayuki paused, wondering if she should go back again to Ilena and check on her once again.

"Mistress, Master is waiting," Obi reminded her. "Let us return to him and report what has happened. Then I will return and sit with her and make sure she doesn't slip into further danger."

Shirayuki looked at him, biting her lip. She didn't want to get Zen worried and they had already been gone longer than she had expected. Plus, he had been stern about her not sleeping in the hall again overnight. She nodded, and they went on to the garrison.

When they arrived, Mitsuhide and Kiki were still bouting on the list. Zen stood up when they walked up. "It took longer than I expected, I'm sorry, Zen." Shirayuki said when they arrived.

"That's okay," Zen said smiling.

"Mitsuhide and Kiki are still practicing? How many matches have they had?" Shirayuki asked looking at their precise forms. Both seemed to be sweating quite a bit.

Zen and Obi looked at her. Obi put his hand on his hip and said, "This is Mistress' first time to see them?"

Shirayuki looked at him, "Yes. They seem very graceful together."

Zen laughed. "Well, if that kind of thumping and banging can be called graceful, then yes, they are. That is still the first match from the beginning."

"Eh?! They have not rested, or stopped?" Shirayuki was amazed.

"Well, they occasionally part to breathe and then move into the next attack," he allowed. "Kiki has been giving it more than usual at the beginning so is wearing down faster, I think."

"You think there will be a winner this time?" Obi asked him, looking closely at the combatants. Kiki did look a little slower than she usually did, and her blows a little harder than usual too. But Mitsuhide was keeping pace with her. "Why does it look like Mitsuhide is just willing to be the partner in this, instead of the opponent?"

"I think he's trying to apologize for getting angry at her earlier today." Zen was looking at the partners, a little frown of worry between his eyes.

"Ah, so she is angry, is it."

"I don't think she was until it was obvious he wasn't going to fight seriously." Shirayuki failed to see how having a bout for longer than a half an hour wasn't being serious.

Suddenly, when they had just parted to begin a new sequence, Mitsuhide put his knee down on the ground, and rested his wooden practice sword tip down on the ground in front of him. Kiki stopped, lowered her practice sword, and they just breathed hard for a moment.

"That's how they end all their battles. If Mitsuhide, or Kiki, didn't yield in the end, Kiki and he could go for hours, probably. They are that evenly matched and know each other's skills so well." Zen explained to Shirayuki.

They watched while Kiki extended her hand to Mitsuhide to help him up. "Will you get more proper rest from now on?" Kiki asked Mitsuhide as he looked up at her.

He grimaced back. "Yes. I'm sorry, Kiki. I shouldn't have snapped at you." She pulled him up.

As they walked towards the other three, she said, "You two need to learn to pace yourselves better. There's no sense in beating yourselves when all it means is your strength is lessened."

"Ah," Obi said, "Mr. Mitsuhide had to take Master's beating too, huh?"

Kiki looked at Obi stonily.

Zen looked sheepish. "Sorry, Mitsuhide, Kiki."

Kiki looked at him, not quite content, "...and…?"

Zen looked at her unsure. Shirayuki shifted slightly, and he got it. "...and Shirayuki. I'll get proper rest from now on."

"See that you do."

They all walked with the sparring partners to where they could wash up. On the way Shirayuki told Zen what was happening with Ilena and what they had discovered in their research. Zen's brow creased. "But you think she is okay?"

Shirayuki ran her hand through her hair and breathed an exasperated sigh. "I don't really know whether to think that or not. Obi, I want you to keep documenting the rate of change of her vital statistics. If either starts to become erratic or drop too low, please come get me or the field surgeon. As long as she appears to just be sleeping, she is likely okay. Also, I've been keeping track of her temperature. If she starts to come out of the hibernative state she should begin to warm up. If her other vitals increase but her temperature drops more, that could also be a sign to send for one of us."

"Yes, Mistress," Obi obediently accepted his orders.

-o-o-o-

Obi sighed. He had really wanted to spend more time with Master and Mistress tonight. He would have eventually gone to sit with Ilena, of course. He wanted to know if she would sleep talk more, or if that had been an unusual occurrence, but it was a rare night where the young couple would have been fun to observe from the shadows. Their awkward romance both made him warm inside and made him want to berate them in frustration: _just get together already!_ Well if it was any other pairing, they probably would have. Mistress respected Master's position highly and he, because of his position, respected her just as highly. Maybe it was okay to be here with the unconscious Ilena instead. At least she wasn't going to make him want to strangle anyone, right? And he'd managed to finagle a couple bottles of wine out of the garrison kitchen, saying, "because the Prince is here." So that was alright.

Obi was generally sitting in the chair, his feet propped up on the desk. Every ten, and then after an hour, every fifteen minutes he would take her vitals. By midnight, he'd finished off the bottles of wine and had moved to the second bed. He was considering lengthening the time for vitals so he could actually get some rest. He decided to check one more time first.

 _Eh? Hmm…. Both heart rate and breathing rate have increased, though not by much. Temperature, then…. About the same, so at least not decreasing. Ah, not going to be able to go to thirty minutes then, eh? You're almost as much trouble as the rest._

At the next fifteen minute mark he jerked awake. _Ah. I'm going to have to go to ten minutes so I don't sleep for an hour and miss important things._ He checked her vitals. A definite increase again, and this time the temperature was up as well. As he recorded the information, he could see from the records that it looked like from the beginning of the drop of vitals to the beginning of increase was about six hours. _Hmm...that seems rather regular. Like it is a set timing from when she was giving the water...if it was just water. I've not noticed her in a state like this before...but I'm not sure I was here to see it. And Mistress didn't notice it until I pointed it out to her. And maybe it's just Miss Steward's normal sleep pattern…._ Obi snorted at himself. He'd never be able to believe that.

For the next two hours, Ilena's vitals increased slowly but steadily until they seemed to balance back out at a steady rate that was more like the sleeping rate he would expect. He was finally relaxing into the bed, having given himself permission to sleep, when he remembered that it was about this time the night before that she had murmured in her sleep. He mentally shrugged. He'd hear her if it happened again, but it didn't seem too likely.

"You can't!"

Obi jerked awake and froze. _I can't what?_ He breathed a bit. _Oh, not me._ Lying still he waited. She was clearer tonight than last night.

"You can't have him! He's been mine since forever ago!"

 _Have who? Ah...likely me...Wellesley...unless it's some stray dog._

"I hate you, stupid Marcovik."

*Pffft!* _No way! Did you really say this sort of thing where he could hear you at night? Or were you protected enough at night in your own room it was okay? Or did you say it to his face on a regular basis and he laughed it off? ...not likely._

"I hate you. You made him go away."

….

"It's okay, Wellesley. I'll protect you. He won't get you. Ever. I won't let him."

 _Eehhhh…._

"You have to stay alive or I'll die. Stay alive, Wellesley. Get stronger, ... promise me. Promise ...me…" Her voice trailed off.

Obi waited to see if she would continue, but she didn't. Though he was holding his heart and emotions with his iron will, he couldn't shake a sudden restlessness. He sat up on the side of the bed, resting his arms on his knees, hands lightly clasped. He finally moved to the table and relit the candle stub. He needed to write down in the book that this was part of the pattern. As he was finishing writing, he turned to check her vitals one more time. May as well record them as well.

*Sniff* "Hah! Haaa...Ahhh!" Ilena's cries pulled him out of his seat faster than he had been intending to move and he nearly fell on her. He couldn't see her well enough. He went back for the candle and held it carefully over her head so he could see her face. Her breathing was ragged and she was obviously in pain. "Ahhh! Haaa….Ha…." She was alternating between crying out in pain and breathing as if breathing was painful, slightly arching her back. He held the candle carefully out of the way, then put his ear to her chest and listened to the air as it moved through her lungs. It was a bit raspy, but he couldn't decide if that was anything to be concerned about or not. They did seem to be filling well enough. "Ahhh!" Her hand reflexively clutched at the blanket. "Haaa…. Haaa…. Rrgghh." Her mouth and jaw clenched as a shudder went through her. It looked like she was fighting some internal monster. _Wait. That's what it looks like… I've seen something like this…. Gods, no._

Obi fell into the chair wanting to put his hands over his eyes, but knowing he had to look, had to see… and he did. There, as the fight with the demon inside began to subside somewhat, tears. Tears of the weariness and pain of the fight slipped down her cheeks. Last night, she'd cried too, after sleep talking, but the symptoms had been much lesser then. His heart sank. He'd seen this years before. His hand touched his chest where he'd been cut deep enough to nearly lose his life. The Little Death. He'd had compatriots who'd gotten into the stuff. It made them not feel the pain so much. The pain of the world, the pain of the fights. But it's price came at the beginning - a death-like state, sleep talking, then what they said was real pain, burning inside. But when it was over and they woke, the pain they felt was cut by however much they had taken. Those who took too much felt no pain, but the price for that was death. Only the desperate went that far.

He touched his scar again, taking a ragged breath. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't. But the pattern was the same. Was there anything else, some other symptom to say if it was or wasn't? He tried to remember.

"Wellesley?" The thin voice whispered into the room.

His head jerked up. Ilena was looking at him. _Oh, yeah. They wake up for a short while, completely alert, then suddenly fall asleep again._ The agony in his heart made it to his face and she was reacting to it just as the candle stub, finally at it's life's end, snuffed out.

*Haaah* Ilena sighed. "Well, I'd ask if it was a dream, that was so short, ...but I know what state I'm at..., so it's not. If you've got... questions you can manage to get out..., you'd better do it quick. My hip hurts so bad... I'm not likely to be awake long." The voice was more weak than pained, but then the Little Death should be taking care of that soon.

"How badly does it hurt?" _Why was that my first question?_

"Like... it's got a small fire in it. Like I want to... twitch it to cast the coals off it, but... I can't move."

"And you shouldn't. You have to lie still for six weeks, the field surgeon says."

"Haah. That's a long time."

"Who caused the landslide?"

"Earl College."

"How do you know?"

"He didn't tell me. Just told me to save myself... if I could..., and laughed as he sent us off. It was one of his bully men who made sure... the driver was dead and... dropped the boulder on me."

"You saw him?"

"Yes, but not clearly. ...I assume everyone else died?"

"Yes."

A gentle sigh. "Sorry."

"About?"

"I couldn't prevent that."

Obi didn't have anything to say to that. He couldn't know whether it was a lie or not.

"Why did you take the Little Death?" he couldn't quite keep the sorrow out of his voice.

*Hhaaa*…. *Haaa*…. "I'm afraid...I'm... going... to... haaa-have to tell you… ne-xt ti-me… mmmm…." Ilena breathed in pain a few more breaths, though each one slower than the previous, until she was breathing the breaths of deep sleep.

He sat there a bit longer, then tiredly set the forgotten candlestick on the desk next to him and crawled into the second bed. She knew she'd taken it, the Little Death. If she didn't get more, if she'd done as the others he'd seen, even her fate would be death regardless of what the surgeon and his Mistress were doing for her. He curled up into a little ball, and the child inside him cried itself to sleep.


	3. The Little Death

_Thanks for reading! Is there the right amount of suspense and things to draw you in? I'm hoping so..._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3 The Little Death**

"Obi. Obi!"

Obi slid slowly out of darkness. "Hmmmm…?"

"Goodness, I've never seen you sleep so soundly. Was it such a long night?"

"I'd prefer to not have to remember it," he said sourly.

"Eh? Was it so bad? I'm sorry. ...But by the record you made, it looks like everything was ok. She returned to stable by two hours after midnight?" He could hear the rustling of the pages. "Was there anything after the sleep talking? There's nothing written."

"The candle burnt out." He closed his eyes again, wishing he could go back to sleep and really not have to remember the rest.

"Ah, I see."

Obi's eyes suddenly flew open and he turned to see Zen standing next to him, looking down on him. "How did you do that, Master?"

"What?" Zen asked innocently.

"Sound just like Mistress?"

Zen cocked his head. "Did I?"

Obi considered throwing a curse at him, then decided to just let his displeasure show on his face. He wasn't up to using that much energy. Slowly he sat up, rubbing his face, then rested it in his palms, his elbows on his knees and his back resting against the wall. "Why did you come, Master?" he yawned.

Zen raised his eyebrow. "You're the one that doesn't want anyone to know who you are. I figured you'd like to give your report in private?"

"Ah...right. ...Are you sure it's morning?" Obi couldn't quite get to the state called 'awake'.

"It's after ten a.m., Obi. Shirayuki's already been in and out some time ago. I've got to leave soon, though."

"Oh!" That shock was enough to wake him up. He probably hadn't had a sound six hours of sleep in years.

"Yeah. That's what I said!" Zen smiled.

Obi made a sour face again. "Well, one good thing from a bad, then, I guess."

Zen looked at him expectantly. "So...what isn't written?"

"Ha...let's see…," Obi leaned his head back against the wall. "The sleep talking: she was protecting Wellesley from Earl College. She told the Earl he couldn't have Wellesley because he was hers from a long time ago, and that she hated him. That was funny. If she was saying stuff like that at the Earldom she should have died a long time ago, though. She told Wellesley to stay alive and get stronger so she could stay alive."

"Was that all?" Zen asked after a pause.

"That was it for the sleep talking. I wrote about it in the book, then was going to go to sleep, when she started to...to cry out as if in pain. It looked like it was hard for her to breathe, so I checked, but it wasn't something I could tell." He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the pity in Zen's eyes. "I was thinking of calling for Mistress, but then I remembered… I'd seen it before. It was something that would pass, and if I wanted to make sure I was right, I needed to just stay and wait."

"Were you right?"

Obi opened his eyes and nodded once, the sour look back. "Shortly after the time of pain, they wake up for a short period and are very aware. I wasn't paying attention to her right at the moment of it, but she called me 'Wellesley'. I looked up in time to see she was very awake just before the candle snuffed itself out." Obi explained exactly what their conversation had been. "I asked her why she'd taken the street drug 'the Little Death'." Obi looked into Zen's eyes, his face closed. "She said, as she faded back into sleep, that she'd have to tell me 'next time'. ...There was nothing else for it at that point but to sleep myself. She'd not only had every symptom, she'd admitted she'd taken it."

"Haah. The Little Death?" Zen was troubled. "What little I've been told about it, the police and military doctors can't find a way to keep the user's alive long enough to question unless they give them more of it, and they have a hard time of doing that if they don't know what dose the user was on."

Obi nodded. "Even if she lives long enough to answer my questions, it's not likely she'll live long enough to make it to Castle Wilant. That's my experience with it. Unless she can tell us her dose and the field surgeon has some here we can give her."

"Could you tell how long she'd been off of it?" Zen asked.

Obi paused, thinking. "She'd been given it that evening. I'm positive of that. Either Miss Alise was a good actress and lying, or someone else slipped in and gave it to her. The timing is right for it to be Miss Alise."

Zen looked thoughtful. "Well, I'm not sure I like the idea of her being involved, instead of locked up for questioning, but until you can get Miss Ilena to tell you her dose, maybe pretending to believe her for now? Since she already knows the dose."

"Maybe," Obi said slowly.

"There's a problem with it?"

"At the highest dose, death follows without fail. They can take it three, maybe four days, but it kills the body - the night pain. If Miss Alise gives her that high a dose to take her out, then that's it."

"Did it seem to be that level of dosage last night?"

Obi considered. "No...it seemed to be a rather light dose, actually. She didn't cry out loud enough for the guards to get concerned with me in here with her."

Zen nodded. "Try to get the dosing from Miss Alise tonight. Once you have it, have her arrested for questioning. As long as they seem to be wanting to keep Miss Ilena alive we'll play along."

Obi nodded, his face neutral. "Do you want us to keep her on it until we can get her to the castle for her testimony or do you want me to just get as much evidence from her as possible here?"

Zen paused. "If it's a low enough dose, there is a possibility she can stay alive and be weaned off of it. I'll talk to Ryuu about it when I get back and see if he can figure something out, or if he's seen more research on that than I have. But to make sure, do learn from her what you can. … Also, I want her in the barracks sooner now. At the first possible opportunity, move her. Use the excuse of death by drug withdrawal if you want. If she's already on it, the Earl probably knows, and might be actually expecting to hear of it. It might protect her a little longer to let him think it."

Obi nodded, his face dark now. "He very well may have been the one to make her take it, actually. If he really relied on her, then that means he didn't want her to be leaving whenever she wanted. If she had to come home to stay alive, that would have been very convenient for him. … Of course, if he's told them to be keeping her alive now, then she might be just a plant to feed us lies and partial truths."

Zen agreed. He held out his hand to Obi. "Let's go back to the garrison. I want to talk to the Captain one more time, then we need to go. You need to eat, and tell Shirayuki and Dr. Bonner about Miss Ilena's hip pain."

Obi took his young Master's hand and pulled up to standing next to him. He was glad to have these shoulders to lean on today. It was much more easy to take orders and not think.

-o-o-o-

Zen looked at Shirayuki. It was kind of odd. It was the first time he was leaving her to take care of Obi in his place, rather than the other way around. He had called her out to talk to her, leaving Mitsuhide with Obi at the table eating in the garrison dining room. Kiki had come with him and was looking, for her, concerned.

"Shirayuki, ...can I leave Obi in your care?"

"Obi!?"

Zen paused an awkward pause. He couldn't explain it enough. Would she accept that? "Obi...is facing a difficult thing here in this place. Will you help him?" Shirayuki looked from him through the door at Obi, who was mechanically eating, then back at Zen, surprise and concern written all over her. "It isn't mine to tell you what it is," he shook his head. "I cannot stay. Will you, in my place?"

"Of...of course!" Shirayuki had put her closed hand over her heart and now she clenched it in determination. "I will do whatever I can!"

Zen reached out to put his hand on her head, then changed his mind and pulled her into a hug instead.

"Z-Zen?" Shirayuki moved her hands to wrap her arms around him and clutch the back of his cloak.

Zen held her until the emotions in him settled. It was a combination of worry for the man who loved him and had given himself completely to him, even though Zen had bridled him, and a reflexive feeling for how he himself felt whenever he thought of losing Shirayuki. Even if Obi had not seen Miss Ilena in many years, it was obvious from his tears that he had once loved her. Loved her enough that, seeing her again now, those emotions were still tender and raw. "Thank you." He said into her ear, so close to him. How he longed to have her here whenever he wished. How was he to help that move forward?! His own emotions felt as tender and raw as Obi's. He buried his face in Shirayuki's shoulder and hair, momentarily holding her tighter, then took a deep breath and slowly released her.

As he moved away from her, his right hand slipped down her left arm to catch hold of her two smallest fingers and hold on to them gently. He lifted his left hand to catch hold of a strand of her red hair and set it slide lightly though his fingers until he held just the ends. "It has grown to a beautiful length, Shirayuki." He smiled, remembering the day they had met. "It seems longer than the strand I cut for you so you could be free of the tree." He saw in his mind's eye the same strand, now sitting in a box tucked into the middle drawer of his office desk. "Is it?" He looked into her startled eyes.

"Eh? Ah! Yes, yes it is. Or rather it is about the same length, I think? I've never been able to grow it much more than this, for some reason, but I don't mind it. To have it too long, it would get in the way of my work, I think."

For some reason Zen's heart twinged. He slowly let the strand slip from his fingers, the smile slipping from his face with it. He pressed more tightly the fingers of her hand he was holding and looked over to Obi. It was time to be going. As it was they wouldn't arrive at the castle until after nightfall.

-o-o-o-

Kiki looked at Zen's back as they rode down the hill away from Osterly. He had paused briefly to look back at the village when they reached the top of the hill, waving briefly at the two specks still standing in the village square where they had parted. It was more relaxed, but a new worry sat there. She sighed, then looked over to Mitsuhide who was riding beside her again. He looked over to her, a question on his face. "He asked Shirayuki to watch over Obi this time," she answered the look.

"Eh? He did?" Mitsuhide was surprised.

Kiki nodded a brief nod.

"Hmmm…" Mitsuhide looked absently at Zen's back, briefly pondering, then looked back at Kiki. "Obi knows the Miss, then?"

Kiki nodded again. "It looks that way."

Mitsuhide pondered longer. "For Zen to ask Shirayuki such a thing…. The Miss and Obi, they look very similar, don't they?" He looked back at Kiki. "Do you think it could be family, then?"

Kiki looked away from him. Her own heart hurt. "It's a possibility."

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki kept a close watch on Obi. He was a little more subdued than usual, but he also kept yawning. "Was it a long night?"

Obi was just coming out of a yawn. "Eh, what?"

"You seem particularly tired today. Was it a long night?" She kept her voice light and a smile on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her.

"Heeh. Well, having to wake up every ten to fifteen minutes is rather difficult, isn't it, Mistress?" He looked at her with one of his sideways smiles. "Just when your body thinks it can rest, you're getting it up again."

"Yes," Shirayuki smiled. "It can be a difficult pattern to learn. Ah! I know. Why don't you rest in your room for a while. There isn't very much for us to do anyway."

Obi looked at her in surprise. "Then what will Mistress do?"

Shirayuki laughed a little laugh. "What I always do, Obi! Sit at the desk and read."

"That isn't a healthy thing to be doing, Mistress," Obi frowned, "to be sitting in the dark hunched over your desk all the time will make you into an old lady too soon."

"Ah, then..., I'll sit next to the guards and have one of the soldiers walk me back to the hall. I know you're supposed to see I'm safe, but where soldiers can see me should be safe enough, don't you think? I promise I won't wander off without waking you up first." She started them walking towards the garrison.

Obi considered her. She was trying too hard, but it was as she said. He was too tired.

She threw out her last gambit. "Besides, you're going to have to sit next to Miss Ilena again tonight, aren't you? Since Zen has said I mayn't." She frowned just a little. She'd do it just to help Obi if she could. "So you need to rest today during the day. If the same thing happens again, tonight will likely be just as hard. I think it took me five nights in a row to be able to learn that pattern of monitoring a patient."

She watched Obi closely. He had put on a disinterested air, as if it didn't bother him that much, but he wouldn't look at her. "Well, I am used to not sleeping much, after all," he said, "but if it will make Mistress feel better, I'll rest some more. After all, Obi is also naturally lazy as well."

She smiled a rewarding smile at him. "That's not true. Obi is always working hard. If he doesn't rest, Zen will get angry." She paused and looked at him threateningly, "And so will I."

"Ah, ah! Mistress! I will sleep! I don't want you angry with me." Obi waved his hands at her, laughing, trying to erase the threat.

They had been given rooms in the wing near the surgery, not too far from the field surgeon Bonner's own room. Shirayuki had requested it so that they might be close to Ilena when she was able to be moved there. Obi hadn't been in his yet, the Little Death having prevented that.

"Look, Obi!" Shirayuki said brightly, "They gave us adjoining rooms again."

Obi looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a door connecting the two rooms.

"Call me if you need me, okay, Obi?" she said.

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way round?" Obi protested, hoping adjoining rooms weren't going to become a sign of a curse for them. They'd had them the trip to Tanbarun castle, too.

Shirayuki crossed her arms. "Good night, Obi. I promise I'll be good."

Obi smiled at her sheepishly, one hand behind his head. "Good night, Mistress. Call me when you are ready to go and do the evening check."

"I'll call you for dinner. You have to eat right, too." She mock frowned at him as she paused, ready to close the door behind her.

"Yes, Mistress," he said obediently as he lay down on the bed.

The door clicked closed behind Shirayuki. Obi curled up into a ball again and quickly fell into the darkness that had followed close beside him since his Master had called him awake. He felt grateful his Mistress had forced him to obedience. The light of day was a little too painful at the moment.

Shirayuki frowned. Zen was right. Obi wasn't doing well. When had that started and how had she missed it? Her circled hand when to her heart. It wasn't good that she hadn't been able to see it. She was too used to being taken care of. Her fist clenched. She would have to do a better job from now on, of being aware of Obi.

When Zen had returned to the garrison that morning with Obi, Obi had been rather stiff and formal, but Shirayuki had assumed it was because Zen had given him the order to talk to Doctor Bonner and her about what had happened that night and he was giving his report. He always gave his verbal reports in a formal manner, particularly to outsiders. But, now that she thought about it, he had given Zen his first report in Miss Ilena's sick room just as formally. That wasn't normal, was it? And then Zen had sent the rest of them from the room. Her stomach clenched. Zen had known. He probably had known just from Obi's written report that had brought Zen here. She was definitely going to have to work harder!

She leaned against the wall outside their rooms, her hands clasped behind her, and looked up at the ceiling above her, thinking. _How far back?_ He had seemed very surprised to hear that Miss Ilena was the Earl's steward. She had been, too, so hadn't remarked it, but now that she thought on it, it seemed like it would have been something he would have known, or at least he wouldn't have had quite so shocked a reaction to. She thought back to when they had arrived at the scene of the accident.

-o-o-o-

Obi had been the first to go scrambling up the rocks. He was nimble and the rocks under his feet didn't even move like they did for many of the other rescue workers. He had found the driver first, still partially laying out of the rocks, his head wounded. Obi had called to him, then looked closely at the wound. He looked up at the other workers and shook his head, indicating he wasn't alive. Looking around the rock-buried carriage, he could see that it wasn't likely anyone inside had survived. He would leave the unburying of them to the others. Looking up above, at the cliff face, he could see where the rocks had scratched the face as they rolled and bounced down it. At the top of the scrape was a ledge. If it was an assassination, that would be where the assassin would have stood waiting to start the slide. He'd have to get up there and make sure. He looked down at the driver at his feet again. That wound was inflicted by a staff, not a rock. He looked closely at the ground around him. There it was. A drop of blood. He followed after it, looking for the trail. There, and there, and there...and here a smear of blood. Had the staff been set down? He looked a little further on. Another smear, this one perpendicular to the lower hill rather than mostly parallel to it. And the rocks here looked shifted, like they had rolled again.

Lieutenant Leeds came up to him and was looking at the place Obi was looking. Obi pointed to the blood. Leeds nodded, then looked further down the hill. "Ah!" he said, "Look!" He pointed down the hill, then called for more men to come help them.

Obi looked down the hill and froze. Below him he could see a woman, long black hair, a slightly dark complexion, lying not quite perpendicular to the hill, half buried by the rocks. A trickle of blood darkly stained her cheek. Below her was a large boulder. It didn't look like it had hit her upper body, so it likely had hit her where the rocks were covering her, smashing them into her, if it hadn't bounced past her. He was down the hill and next to her before he was aware he had moved. He reached out and touched her neck, finding the artery with two fingers. Her pulse was present, her skin warm. "She's alive!" He called back up. That got everyone at the top of the slope scrambling around. Rocks bounced past them as people began to set up belay lines attached to a stretcher and he could hear the field surgeon and Lieutenant Leeds issuing orders.

He carefully shifted so he was below her to catch her if she should slip, then began to lift rocks off of her and throw them to the side. Soon, others joined him, helping to remove rocks, helping to prevent more rocks from coming down on them both, until she was uncovered. "Her hip's been severely injured," one of the other rescuers called up to Doctor Bonner. "Looks pretty crushed. Still losing some blood now that we've removed the pressure of the rocks."

"Try to support that hip as much as possible as you move her to the stretcher," Doctor Bonner had called back down.

Obi had helped to carefully lift the woman onto the stretcher, holding her head and shoulders. Then he had followed the stretcher up the slope, helping to keep it away from the rocks and protect her from further damage. Once they were all back at the top, he had stepped away, allowing the field surgeon and others to lift her and carry her to the wagon. He watched until the stretcher, Doctor Bonner, and Shirayuki were in the wagon. Then he looked up at the ledge above. Grabbing a passing soldier, he pointed up to it. "I'm going up there to look around," he said. The soldier nodded and Obi was off.

He found the little trail and climbed quickly. Once he was on the ledge, he looked carefully at the ground. Eventually he found the place where it looked like the assassin had hid out of sight of the carriage. He looked out over the road and the valley below. It was a good vantage point. He would have seen the carriage coming but they wouldn't have seen him. Turning, he could see the rescue efforts below. He tried to see what would have happened in his mind's eye. The carriage coming; setting off the slide. He could see the instinctive reaction of the driver pulling the horse's head to turn the carriage away from the slide just moments before the rocks hit.

Then he looked to where they had found the woman. It was before the area where the carriage lay broken. He frowned. It was at the very edge of the rock slide. Most of the villagers were removing the rocks from the road and throwing them down the hill now. They had already almost cleared the road above where she had been, having been able to use shovels since the rocks had not been overly large in that area. She hadn't been thrown from the carriage, then. It wasn't possible. If she'd been riding behind, there should have been a horse, probably somewhere below her, but there hadn't been sign of one. He'd ask the lieutenant if he knew.

If she'd been in the carriage, then she would have had to jump out of it at the early signs of the slide to have been that far back of it. He could picture her opening the carriage door and jumping out just as the driver was turning the horse, then rolling and tumbling down the hill, rocks following after her. It was a pretty daring thing, to trust that she wouldn't die just from that, but she certainly had had a better chance of life, and it had, so far, played out that way. From where he stood, the assassin had surely seen the door open and someone jump out. He would definitely have gone to investigate. Obi traced with his eyes the path the assassin would have taken after the rocks had come to a standstill - climbing down the hill, walking past the driver, who may have moved, trying to unbury himself, making sure he wouldn't ever again, then over to look down at the person who had jumped.

Obi wasn't sure where he would have rolled the boulder from, but he could see how it was placed, then levered over the edge of the road. Had he been trying to kill the woman, too? Or was severe injury sufficient? He hadn't bothered to climb down the hill and kill her off. Was it laziness, or was she somehow implicit? Had she been meant to live? He shook his head. They were questions with answers that might come later if she did live.

For now, he looked around the scene again. Where would the assassin have gone next? Away from the village for sure since rescue would come from that direction. Wait. How had the village learned of the accident? Would he have actually gone to the village to make the report of it so that the woman could live? It didn't seem like it had happened all that long ago. Obi shuddered suddenly. He and Shirayuki had passed below this location while the assassin was sitting here. He had watched them pass, and let them go unharmed. They had not been his target, but it was still unsettling. Had he noticed anything at the time?

He remembered. He had. He had seen the rocks above, felt eyes on his back, and his worry had made his horse sidestep briefly. He had picked up the pace so as to remove them from the danger zone quickly. They had passed the carriage much closer to Osterly and he'd forgotten by then so hadn't done any more than raise his hand in greeting to the carriage driver. He frowned. There was something else. He'd seen the woman in the carriage, very briefly through the window. Her dark hair and eyes. Eyes that had seen his and widened ever so slightly, following him until they were past each other. He hadn't given it much thought at the time. It wasn't uncommon for passing strangers to watch each other with casual curiosity. But now that he thought on it again, did she somehow recognize him? It would be very bad for someone from the House of College to recognize him. It was a place he had no intention of ever returning to. If the Earl found out that he was still alive.… He didn't want to take that thought any further. He headed back down the slope to the rescue scene and Lieutenant Leeds. He had questions that needed answers.

Doctor Bonner decided he needed to work on the woman right away, and not in a wagon. Shirayuki volunteered to stay in case another victim who was still alive was found. Obi would normally have suggested she go back with the field surgeon, but he wasn't sure where the assassin was - except not here. So here was safer. He cast about in both directions along the road, looking to see if he could find evidence of which way the assassin had gone when he left. Obi was sure he could catch up with him.

It looked like he had gone towards the village. A small scrape of blood from the staff, a thread here. He had already heard from the lieutenant how word had come. Surely the villager that had gone to him had heard from the assassin himself. Obi's sharp eyes missed nothing as he swept along the road. The assassin had held to the edge of the road, moving quickly but close to cover if it was needed.

All of a sudden Obi stopped. There - a break in the foliage at the side of the road. Had the assassin gone into hiding? He quickly ran to get a closer look. Taking care to not disturb the evidence he was looking for, he moved into the tall scrub that grew here further down the mountain from where the trail had been up in the rocks before. He followed the trail carefully, then stopped short and hid behind a stubby tree. He closed his eyes and used his ears, listening carefully for the sound of breathing. Nothing. No movement other than the air and wildlife. He waited for the requisite time, plus some. Then he carefully turned and peeked around the tree, crouching as he did so.

He really couldn't believe his eyes. Just ahead of him, the scrub began to turn into full size trees. Lying partially in those trees, his feet stretched out towards Obi, was a man, certainly the assassin. Just as certainly dead.

Obi looked up into the trees ahead of him. He still couldn't detect the presence of anyone else. Either they were really good, or they had done their job and left already. He carefully moved to crouch next to the assassin. It was him - he was still holding the staff in his hand, a surprised look on his face, a throwing spear pointing through his back. Obi inspected the spear. It was disappointing. Whoever had been hired to assassinate the assassin was good. It was not only a single one shot kill, it was with an unremarkable, untraceable weapon. Obi searched the body, but it had already been searched and cleaned out. No evidence at all. And he didn't recognize him, so it wasn't a regular from his time in the underworld.

Obi looked around at the trees. The angle of the weapon said it had been thrown from above. From a tree of about...that distance away. Obi inspected the possible places. There was one with signs of occupation, but from there, evidence was very difficult to find. This assassin was at least as good as he was. The other one was clumsy by comparison. He followed the tracks he could make out just long enough to see that they led west and south, instead of east-southeast towards Osterly or west to the Earldom. Whoever it was wasn't giving away where he was headed, either. Obi stopped and chewed on a thumbnail. Putting his life in danger wasn't on the approved list of things he could do, and it wasn't likely he'd get anything out of this new assassin, even if he did find him. There were other ways to find out information of this kind, if it was possible.

Obi returned to the original assassin's body and stared down at it. He should probably take it back. Someone might recognize his face. But, why had he been left here to be found, in the open? That didn't seem like the assassin he wasn't following. He was too good to be careless. Had it been part of his orders to let it be found? Was there another third party involved that wanted to incriminate this assassin's employer? And how had word spread about the accident if it wasn't this man? That would likely be an even harder question to answer. Obi dragged the assassin closer to the side of the road, but kept the body hidden. He'd have the wagon stop and pick it up on the way back to Osterly. Then he headed at a good jog back to the murder site and his Mistress. It wasn't likely the second assassin would double around, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially where she was concerned.

As he jogged back, he thought back to the woman in the carriage who had ended up wounded but not dead. Maybe she was part of that third party? He shook his head. It didn't seem likely, but he wouldn't completely discount it yet. If she was a part of Earl College's household, and she had recognized him, who was she? His thoughts went to one person, all unbidden. It couldn't be, could it? She was the right age. She shouldn't recognize him, should she? She was younger than he was, after all. He wasn't sure she would still be alive regardless, though who was he to say. _He_ shouldn't still be alive. And the look had said, _what are you doing here?_ not _why are you alive?_ Obi took a shuddering breath at that. Not only had she recognized him, she knew where he was, or where he was supposed to be, anyway. If she knew him and his movements, did the Earl as well? Or was it the third party again? Obi struggled to calm his heart. For now, she wasn't talking. He'd stick close, though, and make sure he was the one who heard what words she had to say.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki pushed away from the wall. She hadn't been able to find anything in Obi's behavior before he had learned Miss Ilena's name and position that was odd, other than the typical intensity he had when he went tracking. Since then, he had seemed somewhat restless, but other than that fairly normal. Until Zen had come. There was something Zen knew that she didn't know, and Zen had said he wasn't at liberty to tell. Well, then she'd have to wait until Obi was ready to tell her, but it did seem likely it was something about Miss Ilena.

Shirayuki thought about the young woman. The captain had said she'd been the steward for eight years. Based on how old she looked, that meant she had still been in her teens when she began. Given the reputation she had been hearing about the Earl, that was not a small achievement. Miss Ilena must have worked very hard from a very young age. ...That might make people who knew the denizens of the Earldom know her, but how did Obi know her?

Shirayuki frowned. She knew nothing about Obi's past, except the one time that they had run into a colleague of his in Tanbarun who was bounty hunting a runaway noble's son. ...And that he had been hired to fire an arrow at her to scare her into leaving the castle early on when she had come to Clarines, before she had become an apprentice court pharmacist. That was it. If ever she asked about it, he only laughed and said that it wasn't the path he followed now, so to pay it no mind. But for Zen to have taken his reigns, Zen would have had to know something about it. It seemed shady, but Obi himself didn't seem to hold much emotion for that part of his life.

Being an orphan most of her life, until they discovered that her father was in hiding and the leader of the Lions of the Mountains of Tanbarun, Shirayuki had assumed that Obi was an orphan as well. Maybe he was, but that didn't mean he didn't have family. Was Miss Ilena family to him? Like with her, who had never expected to see any of her family again, had he suddenly been presented with evidence that one was still alive? She nodded. That would make sense. To first see her again in such a state of near-death would likely have been really shocking. Well, if that was the case, she could support him to the best of her ability. He wouldn't have to worry about her while he was worried about Miss Ilena. She would see that they both recovered.

Shirayuki woke Obi for an early dinner, thinking that it would be wise to be at Ilena's side before Alise arrived there. Obi suggested they go by Alise's place and pick her up. She was at her home, but terribly nervous. Shirayuki said kindly that her help was very much appreciated, and that the the woodworker had been helpful, and would she please come help again. She was self-deprecating in return. Obi finally said, "Go ahead and bring the usual beverage along. It's been approved."

Alise's eyes got misty and she said, "Thank you very much," bowed, then retrieved a small closed pitcher.

Obi found that response very interesting. If Miss Alise knew what the liquid was, it was a little odd that she would be so tenderly caring of Miss Ilena. Unless this particular person did not want Miss Ilena to suffer death. If that was the case, then... just maybe... it would be alright. "You wouldn't perhaps be able to tell us how much she's taking, so we can take over, could you?"

Alise squeaked and denied any knowledge, only saying she had been given it by delivery, and knew nothing else, other than Mistress Ilena would die if she weren't given it. Obi frowned a bit, but there wasn't much he could do otherwise for the moment.

They went to Ilena's sick room for the usual evening ritual. Shirayuki said that Ilena's wound felt a little warm, potentially indicating some level of infection. She asked Alise for the 'water' to infuse some of the infection fighting herbs in, and Alise poured it into the glass. Obi picked it up and looked at it closely. It really did look just like the water they had seen in Alise's house, and smelled like it too, but he didn't taste it, and he didn't let Shirayuki either. Was it just such a low dose that there would be no clue other than the night reaction? He'd never actually seen anyone take it previously, after all, just had to live with the night effects later. Alise was looking nervous again, but he ignored her and told Shirayuki it was okay to use, handing her the glass. Alise relaxed a bit. Obi turned and looked at her. "I'll be staying the night again - and expecting to be able to find you at home in the morning." Alise gulped and nodded, her eyes wide, her hands clasped in front of her chest again.

This time, all three of them stayed in the room until Ilena had reached her hibernation plateau, then Obi walked both girls back to their respective sleeping places. "See you tomorrow, Miss Alise," he waved at her as they left. The grin he gave her was more predatory than friendly. She bowed and closed the door.

Shirayuki sighed. "I understand that you still think she needs to be under investigation, but I do wish you didn't have to be so frightening towards her."

"Mmm… Sorry if it bothers you, Mistress. I thought it better than just summarily locking her up," Obi deprecated.

*Haah* "Well, I suppose that wouldn't be kind since I don't really have any evidence she's done anything wrong."

"Well, within a few days, we'll probably know, eh?"

"Keep an eye on Miss Ilena's temperature, Obi. I'm concerned about that infection and the fact that the hibernative effect on her temperature is to lower it. Our bodies use fevers to fight off infections. If she can't have a fever, that infection my blossom quickly." Shirayuki changed topic to voice her concern.

"I will, Mistress," Obi said comfortingly.

She frowned. "In fact, let's go talk to Doctor Bonner about it before we end the day."

"Yes, Mistress."

The Doctor was in his quarters, preparing to end his day, but he let them in cordially.

"Doctor Bonner," Shirayuki said, "I am concerned. The hip was warm to the touch this evening. I've given Miss Ilena some more herbs to help fight infection, but she is having a repeat of last night's odd hibernation. Her temperature has dropped quite low and I'm sure that does not help her body fight the infection. I'm concerned it may blossom quickly."

"Hmm...that could be very likely," Dr. Bonner stroked his chin. "You'll be staying with her again, Sir Obi?"

Obi nodded. "Master has asked that we move Miss Steward into the garrison as soon as possible. I was wondering, other than the strain of moving an ill patient, what was your reasoning for keeping her in the village hall?"

Dr. Bonner raised an eyebrow. "In order to keep the hip from moving so that the bones have time to knit back together."

"You said that you would likely have to do another surgery, is that right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then would it be possible to move her to this location here to perform that surgery? You would be able to reset any bones that moved during the transport at that time."

"Hmm… That might be a possibility. I suppose we could even move her tonight, since it is looking like it will have to happen soon anyway."

Obi considered the possible plans. "Master wants it to look like she has died somewhere around that point, so as to throw the Earl, or whomever killed the Earl's lady, off the trail of trying to remove Miss Steward."

"Well," said Dr. Bonner thoughtfully, "now, while the blood flow is reduced, the infection won't spread. It would be best if we completed the surgery before she comes out of the hibernation stage."

Shirayuki nodded. "I'd like to help, if I may."

Doctor Bonner raised his eyebrow at her. "You do not shirk at the sight of blood, Miss Shirayuki."

Shirayuki shrugged. "I cannot do my work if I were to do that, Doctor Bonner."

He smiled at her pluck. "Well, then go and get changed into very clean, simple clothes, and meet me in the surgery room. The less dirt we add to the infection site, the better."

Shirayuki nodded and crossed the hall to her room. Doctor Bonner turned to Obi, a very serious expression on his face. "We will need to take her off the Little Death, Sir Obi. Miss Shirayuki is correct. If we continue to allow regular temperature drops, even with the surgery to remove any further foreign objects, she may still die of infection. Is the dose low enough?"

Obi shrugged, worried. "I don't know for sure. I was supposed to find out tonight when she wakes up if she knew herself. But if the liquid Miss Alise brought tonight was indeed the Little Death, it was so faint as to be undifferentiated from water. Miss Alise claimed to not know it either."

Doctor Bonner thought carefully. "It is likely, that if it is low enough, she should be able to survive for at least a few days, and maybe wean herself from it without any further aid from us at all. If you could get the dosage, that would certainly help matters, but I don't want to keep giving it to her."

Obi looked at Doctor Bonner quizzically. "Do you have some of it to give to her?"

Doctor Bonner nodded. "The Captain confiscated some a few months ago. Regent Zen asked him to give it to me to aid Miss Ilena."

"I will do my best," Obi said. "I'll go and have a wagon prepared to bring Miss Ilena here and come with her."

"Alright. We'll meet you in the surgery room." Doctor Bonner went back into his room to change back into appropriate clothing and Obi headed to get the transportation started.

Before stopping at the garrison stables and requisitioning a wagon to transport Ilena, Obi stopped by the office of the Captain to briefly explain the plan, including the farce that Ilena should 'die' on the operating table, and to ask for additional soldiers to accompany the wagon to protect Ilena.

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "Then what excuse will you and Miss Shirayuki give to remain here at the garrison?"

"Ah," he hadn't thought of that. "Is it something the men can keep quiet?"

The Captain nodded. "But if you leave the garrison, the villagers will know, and it would be easier if only a limited number of men actually knew you were here."

Obi agreed. "Haah. I guess it will be enforced imprisonment by choice for Mistress and me, in the medical wing then, won't it?"

The Captain gave him a searching look. "Not by order?"

Obi smiled at him. "Nope." He waved and left for the garrison stables.

Inside Ilena's room, she was still in her deep sleep. He checked her vitals. They were still low, but the heartbeat seemed just a little irregular. He moved the covers off her wound and checked it. It was looking more raw and red than it had when they had left earlier that evening and it was warmer to the touch than the rest of her body. He covered her again, then made her and the bed ready, pulling the bed sheet out so that the soldiers could lift her by lifting the corners of it.

Securing the medical record and other items that pertained to her being in that place, he opened the door and ordered the soldiers in a loud voice to send for the field surgeon, that Miss Steward was suddenly doing very poorly. One of the guards ran off towards the garrison. The other stood carefully alert, and even Obi held his throwing daggers at the ready. This would be a perfect time for an ambush, if one was ready.

In short order, the town hall was emptied and surrounded by soldiers. The guard came back and told Obi that the wagon was nearly there. He looked worriedly at the Steward of Farmore. She had a faint sheen of sweat on her brow now. He quickly took her vitals again. The heartbeat was more erratic and her breathing, while still slow, had increased and was becoming ragged, and she was clammy and cooler.

"Get them in here as soon as possible. She may not make it to the surgery room," Obi said.

The guard got it, and yelled to the guards at the door to have them hurry it up. Then there was a small flood of guards entering the hall with a stretcher, and into the room. Quickly they moved her to the mobile bed and they were sprinting to the door.

The ride to the garrison was short but chaotic. Obi rode with Ilena and watched her closely. Later, Captain Grey told him that there had been a brief clash with a small number of rough looking men, but it had seemed like they were more interested in confirming if the passenger on the wagon was Miss Ilena than in doing her in. Once they had confirmed it, they had broken off and fled as a group. The few captured claimed they weren't there to fight, just to confirm whether Miss Ilena was alive or not. "All for the sake of poor Earl College, who was so grief stricken at the death of his wife and the life-threatening injury to his faithful steward that he was unable to rise from his bedchamber." Obi could only remember that he held on to Ilena's wrist, constantly feeling for her pulse, and watched her chest to count her breathing, willing her to live.

As the guards carried her into the outer surgery room, Obi shed his boots and his over coat. The surgeon tossed him a long medical coat that he threw on over his other clothes and he tied a large handkerchief over his hair. He quickly washed his hands thoroughly and entered the surgery room. By then, Shirayuki was helping Dr. Bonner to prepare Ilena. Obi took up residence next to Ilena's head on the right side to be out of their way. He went back to holding Ilena's wrist and counting her breaths. Once he had the current baseline, he called it out to them, then started counting again.

Dr. Bonner raised an eyebrow. "One would think you two had been in the surgery room before."

Shirayuki nodded. "Not much, but a few times in Lyras. We learned clean room procedures there."

Dr. Bonner nodded. "Well, let's get started, then, shall we?"

The surgery was detailed and meticulous, with lots of washing out of the wound to remove the infection and loosen any more rock and bone particles. They were easier to find now that the body itself had attacked them, marking them for what they were. Dr. Bonner shifted the hip bones just slightly, pleased with the progress they were making. Then it was time to look at the tendons again. That was more tricky. He set the two outer tendons right, but couldn't decide how to handle the main tendon. He finally decided on trying taking a portion of living tendon from the the backside of the hip, wrap it over the hip bone, and stitching it to the part of the tendon that was still attached to the main leg muscle. It didn't look like it would work, but it might and he needed to try something. Then he put the rest of her back together again, making sure that when her heartbeat was strong again it wouldn't cause the wound area to fill with blood, and stitched the outer wound closed. "Well, that's that," he sighed. "Now it's wait and see what her body does."

"Do you think your trick for the tendon will work, Dr. Bonner?" Shirayuki asked. She applied the poultice to the wound and bandaged it while Dr. Bonner cleaned himself and his tools. After watching the surgeon, she was glad Ilena was in a state of deep unconsciousness. It all looked very painful.

"No," he answered bluntly, "but a lot of surgery is experimentation and doing what one can. Typically, when the tendon has torn off the bone like that, there is nothing that can be done. But I'd rather try something that has even a slight possibility of working than not try anything at all. That's how we learn, after all."

Shirayuki nodded. That was how a lot of things had gotten done at Lyrias, the center for research in Clarines, too. Study, educated guesses, trial and error, repeated over and over until a thing was found to work. "Do we keep Miss Ilena in here tonight?" she asked.

Dr. Bonner looked at his patient thoughtfully. "For now. ...How much longer do we have, Sir Obi?"

Obi asked him what time it was, having lost all sense of it in his focus on the timing of her breaths and heartbeats. After he was told and calculated, he answered, "We have about an hour or less until she begins to rouse. Two hours to come out of the hibernation state, if it holds true. … Another half an hour before the screaming starts, if the pain from the surgery doesn't start it at the three hour mark."

The field surgeon nodded. "It likely will. We can't give her anything to kill the pain of the surgery until she gets to the awareness state. It simply isn't possible."

"Haa, that's four hours out still."

Obi and Shirayuki looked at each other. It was obvious they both wanted to tell the other to go get rest. Bonner raised his hand. "Don't fight. It isn't possible. Just both of you stay here. Doze in your chairs if you need to, but be prepared to have your hearts ripped out by her screaming. If you've never heard the screams of the dying it will be more than you are prepared for. ...And when it's a woman, it's the worst. I'm going to bed. Her screams will wake me, but I'll stay there unless you come get me, if it's all the same to you. Sir Obi, you know the sign to look for. Miss Shirayuki, prepare the pain killing medicine between midnight and one. Sir Obi will let you know when it is time to give it to her."

Obi and Shirayuki nodded their understanding.

"We'll move her to Obi's room when we declare her 'dead' and announce that we are keeping the body in cold storage for further investigation. At that point, you two are under house arrest, so to speak, if you want her kept safe."

Obi shook his head tiredly. "I've got one more thing to go do in the morning - as part of the investigation it won't look strange - and I need to bring my horse to the stable here. Then we'll have a couple of guards ride off, as if us, or something." That detail was too blurry to think about tonight.

Bonner nodded, "Well, then, good luck tonight." He left for his room and distance between him and the screams still to come.

Obi and Shirayuki looked at each other for a long moment, then sighed. "Well, he is right. It's no use, is it?" Obi said.

Shirayuki nodded, "And he did say it will take both of us to give her the pain medication."

Obi nodded back. "Well, then, we should at least rest while we can." He stood up from his chair and stretched. He'd gotten rather cramped sitting in one position for over an hour. He fetched a chair for Shirayuki and set it down where she indicated when he asked her where she wanted to be.

For a while it was quiet while Shirayuki caught the medical journal up to date to their current time, then she handed it to Obi, who made his notations in it. They sat quietly for a while after that. Finally Shirayuki ventured, "Obi...is she...family to you?"

Obi looked at her out of the corner of his eye without moving, slightly surprised at the question. "Did Master talk to you?"

"Only to say that he was concerned and ask me to watch out for you," she admitted, chagrined. "I'm sorry I didn't notice before."

"You weren't supposed to," Obi said a little coolly.

 _Ah, he's upset. He really doesn't like talking about his past._ Shirayuki was sorry she had asked.

Obi looked away from her, up to the top of the wall opposite them. "A distant cousin," he finally answered. "I haven't seen her since we were very young. I'd prefer if she didn't learn who I was."

"I'm sorry, Obi. … But...that seems very sad." Shirayuki had been very happy to meet with her father.

"It will only bring us both lots of trouble in the end. She doesn't know the name Obi, so it shouldn't trouble you much."

"Alright. If that's what you want."

"It is."

-o-o-o-

Obi was dozing when his senses went on alert. He was still subconsciously counting Ilena's breaths. They'd risen to near normal and were sounding harsh. Shirayuki was resting her arms and head on the bed next to Ilena. He shook her until she was awake. "It's time to prepare the pain relief medication, Mistress. She'll begin her pain sequence soon."

Shirayuki obediently went to the small side table she had set her supplies on and began preparing the medication.

Obi watched Ilena closely. He could see it coming. What would she say today, if anything? Or would it go right to the pain?

"My lord!"

Shirayuki looked up startled. "What is it, Obi?"

"It's alright, Mistress. It starts with dreaming and talking the dream out loud. If she can do that without screaming-"

"Aaahhhh! Please, my lord!"

Shirayuki was paralyzed.

"Please, my lord, I don't know. *gasp* I really don't know! Aaahhh!" Ilena's body arced and Obi leapt up to stabilize her lower half so she wouldn't throw the pieces of hip bones back out of alignment. Ilena breathed hard for a few breaths. Then it began again.

"He didn't...I swear he didn't! I haven't seen Wellesley since dinner, my lord. I swear it! … Aaaahhhh!" she fought to arc again. Obi held her weakened body still, but the pain gave it some strength. He couldn't look at her face, instead choosing to look at his hands, his face very dark.

He continued to hold her as the screams continued, occasionally punctuated by dry sobs. She didn't speak again, though. He knew she hadn't been allowed to. Punishment was merciless when the Earl was angry and he could not get the answer he wanted. Then she was still, her ragged breathing very loud in the sudden quiet. Obi was about to let her go when she chuckled lightly. He froze, and looked up into her face. Was she awake already?

She wasn't. _What was this?_ Ilena laughed, as if to herself. "You bastard. You've done it to yourself. He's finally free. Like I'd ever tell you where he was, even if I knew. I'm glad of it. ...And I know you. You've left me alive, you'll keep me alive forever, now, just in the hope of getting him back. That's all the space I need to bring you crashing down. I've learned what patience can do to a house, how it can canker slowly from the inside. I can be patient for as long as it takes. Ah hahaha! I've won already, bastard Marcovik. Wellesley has freed himself so that I am now free to move against you. Free…" she faded out.

Obi stared at her in shock. One crazy thought finally made it through, _Wasn't she, like, only nine at the time?_

Shirayuki's hand thumped to the table. Breathing as if for the first time in a while, she fought herself. "Was that it, Obi? Is it time?" Her other hand was curled at her heart.

Obi shook his head. "No what is to come will be worse, most likely."

"Worse!?"

Obi risked a glance at her and nodded. "But no talking. All screaming." His face was grim.

Shirayuki shook, then as determinedly as she could began working on her medication again. It had to be done by the time the next set of screaming was done.

It took more strength this time to keep Ilena still through the repayment pain of the Little Death with the addition of the pain of the surgery, but it didn't seem like Alise had given her a larger dose than before. When it had gone on for about the same amount of time as it had the night before, Obi started watching her eyes closely. "Mistress it should be about time."

Shirayuki started. She had finally closed her ears as best she could, losing her mind and focus into her work putting the screams into the background as much as possible. Obi's words surprised her back into reality. "Ah, ah, right." She quickly poured out the medication into a small cup and took it to stand next to Ilena's head, ready to give it to her, trembling slightly.

"As soon as the tears drop from her eyes, you will have a few breaths, then she will become conscious. Look for the fluttering of the eyelids. At that time, you can lift her head and give her the medication." Obi released Ilena's waist, but stood ready to hold it down again, if necessary.

Both battered nurses watched her closely. The screams had subsided, but her whole body was obviously still wracked with pain. Then, she began to relax little by little, and the tears began to leak out of her eyes. Shirayuki leaned down close to Ilena's ear. "Miss Ilena. It's Shirayuki, court pharmacist for Regent Zen. I have some pain medication for you. Please, drink it. It will help ease the pain of the hip surgery." Ilena sobbed once as Shirayuki lifted her head and began to help pour the liquid down her throat, going slowly so as to allow Ilena to swallow it. When it was gone, Shirayuki lay Ilena's head back down on the mattress. She was so worn out from the efforts of fighting the pain, Obi wasn't sure the awareness period would last long.

"Zen?" Ilena asked hoarsely.

"Regent Zen has returned to the castle, Miss Ilena," Shirayuki said. "I am staying at Osterly barracks with you."

"Then who?" Ilena asked. It looked like her eyes were not capable of seeing tonight.

Obi reached out, his head bowed, and touched the back of her hand with the back of his hand, his middle finger wrapping around her middle finger.

"Ah." She sighed. "Wellesley. … Thank you…."

Obi was quiet for a while, then said, "Mistress, she is sleeping again, and will sleep until morning, or longer given her state. We may rest now." He released Ilena's finger and placed his hand on hers instead.

Shirayuki slumped. "Doctor Bonner wasn't kidding. That was probably the most difficult thing I've had to go through, other than Umihebi."

Obi, still looking down, said warningly, "It isn't over, Mistress. I'm sorry."

Shirayuki's head lurched up and her stomach with it. "What?" she breathed.

"This is the nightly progress of a terrible street drug called 'the Little Death'." He spoke as if giving a small lecture, devoid of emotion. "Taken in it's normal doses, if a user doesn't keep taking it, they die. The night pains get worse until they tear up the body if they try to stop using it. The higher the dose they use, the faster the night pains kill them. As near as I have been able to determine, Miss Steward is taking a light dose." Shirayuki's eyes bugged out. _Light dose!?_

"It has to be given every twenty-four hours. The only one who could have been giving it to her is Miss Alise, as the progress begins within a half hour of dosing. Master required of me that I make it clear to Miss Alise she was to continue with the dosing for the time being. In the morning I will visit Miss Alise to try to get from her again, if I can, the dosing she has been making. It is required knowledge if the Doctor is to help Miss Steward survive the coming days. If she can be successfully weaned off the drug, then this nightly process will fade away. If she cannot, the Doctor will either have to put her back on the drug and they will continue nightly for the rest of her life, or she will die." He looked emotionlessly at Shirayuki. "The night pains will continue, but the pain of the hip surgery will heal and pass with time, so not all of the nights will be as bad as this one. For probably a couple more, at least, I would guess, we will have difficult nights. I am sorry I wasn't to tell you until now." Obi looked very tired.

Shirayuki sat down with a thump in the chair Obi had occupied earlier. This was a lot to take in after everything else. That it was going to _continue...nightly!?_ Finally she put her hand on her head. "I will think about this in the morning. It is too much tonight."

Obi nodded. He replaced the covers over Ilena neatly while Shirayuki cleaned up her tools and herbs she had made the medicine with. She paused and looked at Obi, "Would it help to give her the pain medication before she goes into the Little Death?"

Obi shrugged. "I don't know, Mistress. Maybe Doctor Bonner knows."

Shirayuki nodded. She'd ask him in the morning.

"Let me walk you to your room, Mistress. I have one more thing I must do."

Shirayuki wearily walked to the door, trailing Obi. "Oh, the book."

Obi looked at it. "I will take it, later" he said, opening the door.

Obi walked her to her room, then leaned against the outside of the door, listening until she had put herself into bed. He went into his room to check again and put his boots and jacket back on. Yes, they had given him a double. He removed the top sheet and blanket from the bed on the wall farthest from Shirayuki's room. He hated to have Miss Ilena that close to her at night, but Mistress would hear the screams anyway, and he was ordered to have Miss Ilena with him.

When he was satisfied, he went out to Doctor Bonner's room, to report briefly and tell him that he was going to move Ilena to his room now. Bonner nodded sleepily. "Did the Miss make it okay?" he nodded his head at Shirayuki's room. "It didn't sound as bad as it could have."

"She is shaken, but she will be okay in the morning," Obi said tiredly but confidently. He knew his Mistress.

"Well, call for four to lift and carry her on the stretcher. I don't want to have to go in again."

Obi agreed wholeheartedly.

It took another fifteen minutes to get soldiers gathered and move Ilena into his room. He swore them to secrecy and made them the guards on his room and on the entrance to the medical wing for the rest of the night. Putting the medical record book on the little desk in his room and pulling off his boots and jacket again, he fell into his bed and deep sleep for the second night in a row.


	4. The Steward is Dead

_Yeay! The dark suspenseful begining is done...now to the fun meat of the story. (Except maybe the little section where we transition.) Thank you for continuing to follow along with me._

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 **CHAPTER 4 The Steward is Dead**

Obi woke in the morning feeling a bit like he had a hangover, though he wasn't sure since he hadn't had one since he was very young - alcohol had always been the drink of choice for the College family, even for the young. He sighed and rolled over to sit on the edge of his bed, rubbing his face with his hands. Dropping his hands to rest on the bed beside him, he looked over at the bed on the other side of the room. Ilena was still breathing at least. He got up, washed to finish waking, and dressed for the day.

"Well, now," he said the sleeping form of Ilena, "to take care of you." He took her vitals, updated the medical record, mechanically writing quickly. He knocked on the adjoining door to Shirayuki's room, and hearing nothing, peeked his head in. She was still sleeping soundly. He quietly entered the room and dropped the medical record on her desk, then left just as soundlessly back to his own room. It wouldn't do to have the guards see him leave Mistress' room. That would get him in trouble with Master.

"Stay there," he told Ilena. "I'll be right back." He wondered if she was conscious enough to be laughing inside. Probably not. It wasn't that good a joke anyway.

He headed for the garrison dining room first, grabbing up an apple and a hunk of cheese. Munching alternately between them, he walked through the garrison and headed for Alise's house. It looked like it was mid-morning. That worked, though he didn't know if Alise would be home. _Wonder what she does during the day?_ The thought was idle. His eyes were sweeping the village, catching every dim shadow, every furtive movement. In particular, he wanted to see if someone was entering or leaving the area of Alise's house, or if it was being watched. He was certain he'd picked up at least one tail, and every idle shadow-hugger watched him as he walked. This little village wasn't big enough for this many of them. Someone definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next.

The problem was, he wasn't sure himself. He couldn't quite work up the energy to put on a show of being angry or upset at the moment, which was probably the right way to go about it. He finally settled himself with leaning against a wall, one foot up on it, his arms crossed, looking broody. From here, he could see Alise's house from the side. That way he would know if someone came or went from the front or the back. It was an obvious stakeout, for the sake of his tails, but really he just wanted time to think. If he got to see something useful, well, so much the better, but he doubted it would happen.

Finally he sighed. Nothing was coming to mind. Well, cold expressionlessness was often just as useful as hot anger.

He knocked on Alise's door. She actually answered it, Obi was mildly surprised. He slowly lowered his hand that had been about to knock again. "May I come in?"

"Ah, Master Obi. Yes, please." She ushered him in, closing the door behind her.

The front room was small and simply furnished. Obi did his automatic sweep of the room and the house emotionlessly. One person upstairs in a bed. Maybe she took care of an older family member and that was why she was home. One person hiding very quietly in the kitchen. Had that person been waiting since morning for him to come? Well, that made the task easier then, didn't it? He set his back to the door, standing close enough to it to run if he needed to, though there wasn't a sense of a threat, just of observation, coming from the kitchen.

"Miss Alise, what is the dosing of the Little Death Miss Steward was on?"

Alise took in a sharp breath and tightened her hold on her hands, which were clutched in front of her skirt. She looked directly in his eyes, her eyes pleading. "I'm very sorry, Master Obi. I do not know."

"Does the person in the kitchen know?"

Alise startled quite badly, but Obi didn't move. She shook her head violently. "N...n-n-no, Master Obi."

His eyes narrowed. "You're very certain?"

"Y-y-yes, Master Obi. We are only delivery persons."

"But the person who makes it knew I would be coming today to ask." He stated it as fact and her body didn't deny it. "Why didn't that person tell you?" He could feel the panic of the person in the kitchen rising as that person's breathing rate increased.

"I...I don't know, Master Obi," her shoulders slumped in defeat and tears started well up in her eyes. "I don't want Mistress Ilena to die, Master Obi. If I could help you, I would."

"Have you received today's delivery?"

"Ah...yes." It was almost a whisper.

"I'll take it," he ordered her. Alise curtsied and turn quickly to the kitchen. She returned shortly with a canister like the one she had brought to the recovery room the night before.

"And the instructions?" Obi asked as he took the container.

"Mistress Ilena will give them herself." He could see that Alise was very afraid, but she had enough courage to look him in the eye when she said it.

Obi was coldly silent for a moment. "It is already too late. Please let them know that the Steward died because of the Little Death this last night. She will not return to the Earl." He stared at Alise a moment longer as her tears started to fall, then turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him. He could hear her sobbing into her hands and the faint footsteps of the person in the kitchen quietly coming to comfort her. He raised his head to the sky and breathed out a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly.

Well, that was done, and it went about as he expected. He walked slowly to the village stables where he collected his horse and paid the difference he owed. He led the horse past the village hall without looking at it - really without looking at anything, aware only of the people in the shadows watching him, the people in the light moving out of his way. When he was at the garrison, he left his horse with the stable hand there, telling him to prepare it for departure, and returned to his and his Mistress' quarters, taking the container of Little Death with him. Word started to spread that Mistress Ilena, Steward of the Earldom of Farmor, had died and Master Obi, rumored missing heir of the same, was heartbroken.

"Mistress! Mistress!" Obi knocked on Shirayuki's door from the outside hall way. "Have you woken yet? It is nearing time to leave."

He heard stirring on the other side of the door. "Time to leave?" came muffled through it.

"Yes, Mistress. Master will be waiting for us. We shouldn't be arriving too much after dark or he will worry."

"Ah, just a moment," he could hear Shirayuki throwing on some clothes and washing her face quickly. Then she opened the door, her eyes wide, "Obi? What…?"

He put his finger to his lips. "May I come in briefly and help you pack, Mistress?"

"Eh, ah...yes, please," Shirayuki answered, letting him in. Once the door was closed behind her she asked, "So...what are we doing?"

Obi sighed. "Somehow we are going to leave with everyone noticing. Then we are going to arrive without anyone noticing. I'm afraid I have to admit to not being able to consider it properly at the moment." He yawned.

"Obi, that was a _very_ big yawn," Shirayuki scolded. "You did not sleep properly, did you?"

"Perhaps it is that I slept too much," he yawned again. "I am not used to sleeping so deeply as I have the last two days."

"If we are 'ready to go', does that mean you have talked to Miss Alise?"

"Yes. She was unable to tell me anything, though she did give me today's dosing," Obi answered, handing over the canister, "but I didn't think she would be able to. She did tell me that there was a middleman who delivered it to her from the person who made it, so there are probably several layers of persons between to make it difficult to track down the person who really knows. She also said that Miss Steward will explain the dosing herself. Miss Alise, herself, doesn't want any harm to come to Miss S...Miss Ilena, but is not capable of helping beyond what she has been able to do this far." Obi sighed, "So I have sent back up the chain that the Steward has died to the Little Death last night and will not return to the Earl. It will be up to Mistress and the Doctor to keep Miss Ilena alive for Master's sake, ...but he did ask Ryuu to help."

"Oh, he asked Ryuu?" That was a ray of hope for Shirayuki, who was feeling a bit helpless about a drug she had never heard of before that previous night.

Obi nodded. "Also, Master ordered the Doctor to provide whatever you need of the Little Death the Captain confiscated some time ago in order to keep Miss Ilena alive long enough to bear testimony against the Earl, if it is possible."

"So we have access to some? ...Obi," she said very carefully, and his warning bells went off and he went on alert, "how is it, that I, who need to know these things so that I can be of help because I am here in the place to be of help, know these things last? Surely a task of such import and difficulty should not generally be left until the last minute to comprehend and complete."

"Ah…!" He fished for the right way to respond. Abject humility was the only way. He bowed deeply. "You are correct, Mistress. I am very sorry." He would have to be very sure this righteous anger of Mistress was conveyed in his next report to Master...after all, he should also be prepared for her anger the next time they met. This was not a small matter for her.

"Go check on Miss Ilena. I will go and speak with Doctor Bonner." She ordered, picking up the medical record book off her desk. "I will come for you after that."

"Yes, Mistress," Ah, he was being sent to his room for being naughty. Shirayuki even pointed at the door between their rooms and waited until he had bowed himself through and closed it. Then he heard her sigh a frustrated sigh and exit her room. He leaned his head against the door between their rooms, listening to her walk down the short distance to the Doctor's office, knock, announce herself, and be admitted. He turned his head slightly so he could just see Ilena. "You know, you are getting to be quite troublesome," he told her. "For all our sake, I hope you stay alive."

"I'm sorry. I plan to."

Obi jumped. Up into the upper corner of the room where he had been standing in, holding himself in position as if waiting to land on the next person to walk through the door. His unconscious reactions had him back on the floor again in a crouch before his mind registered that he'd even scanned the room for attackers and seeing none, had let himself drop.

Ilena had an amused smile on her tired face. "That was an interesting reaction. I think I might need to be grateful that there aren't several daggers sticking out of me as well." He had seen her face and she had been looking at him when he was up on the ceiling, but now that he was on the floor, she could only see him slightly by turning her head.

Obi took one long slow breath, willing his heart to calm, sliding his throwing knives back into their sheaths. "Indeed." He said coldly. Standing, he stared at her, his eyes hard. "Next time, you will."

"Understood," her voice was apologetic, but it was also still tinged with amusement. For some reason, the first contact he'd had with Zen's older brother rippled across his memory. He'd been sitting in a tree, waiting for Master to call him, when a sharp stone had been flung at him and scratched his cheek. He'd caught the stone just as it zipped past, but he'd not seen the attacker before or after. It had been Master who had told him it had been his older brother, testing him. It rankled that it felt like Miss Ilena had just tested him and he'd passed it just as badly, by his own standards.

"Why are you awake?" Obi asked her, walking to her and lifting her arm to take her pulse.

"It doesn't hurt? ...What are you doing?"

"Taking your pulse. One of the odd jobs your presence has required is that I am now a nurse."

"Oohhh." She waited quietly while he counted and calculated, and then measured her temperature.

"It really doesn't hurt?" Obi asked neutrally.

"No, but then the court pharmacist did give me a painkiller on top of the painkiller I had already taken. I shouldn't think it too odd."

Obi turned the desk chair and sat on it so that he was leaning over the back of it to talk to Ilena. "Let's talk about that second painkiller, shall we?"

"What would you like to know?" Ilena asked obligingly.

Obi started to ask a question, then stopped. There were rather a lot of things he needed to know about it and several he wanted to know. What was the most important? They didn't really have a lot of time at the moment, but would, or potentially could, have more later. _It's that then, isn't it?_ "What dose are you on and how do we get you off of it altogether?"

"Hmm… I'll tell you, but go open your door first."

 _?_ But her eyes were closed. Obi got up and opened the door to find Shirayuki just walking up to it, her mouth open to request entrance from the guards outside. They looked at each other briefly, both astonished. Obi recovered, "Mistress, please come in." He bowed her in, remembering she was probably still angry. "Ah, please have a seat, Mistress."

In looking for the chair, Shirayuki couldn't miss Ilena's open eyes, looking at her. "Ah! Miss Ilena! You are awake?"

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Shirayuki," the subject supplied as Obi turned the chair around and Shirayuki sat down.

"Miss Shirayuki. Thank you very much for taking care of me last night. I apologize for the ordeal I am sure it was." Ilena's voice was quiet and her face tired.

"I think, as an appropriate apology, I would like to know how it is I am going to help you." Shirayuki said. Obi, hearing this, had his heart sink. She was still angry.

"Of course. I would be happy to tell you the process, if you would be so kind as to take the dictation."

Shirayuki paused, her hand lifted. " _You_ know...the _whole_ process?"

"Yes, Miss Shirayuki," Ilena said soberly. "However the story of why needs to wait for another time. It is rather longer than I have the energy to tell today."

Shirayuki blinked, then took out her pen and opened Ilena's medical record. "Very well. I am ready."

Ilena glanced at Obi, then turned her head to look at the ceiling and closed her eyes. "Please be aware that I have already received the first two doses, but I shall give them to you for completeness sake. Also, please be sure that it is made only by your hand. I will not take it if another makes it. Too many wish my death." Shirayuki nodded, making notes. When her pen paused, Ilena continued. "The Little Death comes in grains. Typically in the underworld a few grains are placed on the tongue and allowed to dissolve. This is very dangerous. Please do not do such a thing to me." Shirayuki made another note, her pen scratching on the paper.

When it was quiet, Ilena continued, "Three grains only, seeped in a liter of water. Do not stir. At five minutes, take only the top measure of three drams, careful to leave the grains behind. Discard the remainder. Repeat for the second night. These two doses should be given at the typical time the user takes their dose." Ilena paused again until the scratching stopped. "The following two nights, two grains only, seeped in a liter of water, do not stir. At five minutes, take only the top measure of three drams, careful to leave the grains behind. The dosing for these and the remainder of the course must be given at the appropriate time." She paused again, waiting for Shirayuki to catch up.

"The appropriate time to dose for the remainder of the course that I am to take is at the time of lucidity, just after the tears flow. The timing of the night wakefulness is consistent throughout. However, administering becomes difficult as the length of time for lucidity shortens nightly until it is so brief that your only clue to the dosing time is the few tears that fall. In my case, if you are holding my hand at that time, I will squeeze your hand to let you know the time is right."

This time she waited while Shirayuki figured out how to write it down. "Ready," said Shirayuki when she was done.

"The remainder of the course is this: the fifth night, two grains only, seeped in a liter of water, three minutes. Take only the top one dram. Discard the remainder. Repeat thereafter nightly, until the patient no longer cries in the night. Even wet cheeks with silent tears require this dosing. Waking the following morning after the course is complete will be normal with clear eyes."

When Shirayuki was done writing, she read it back to Ilena, making a few minor clarifying notes as she went. "So in your case, tonight we will wait until the time of wakefulness and give you the first of two nights of the two grains seeped in a liter of water, taking the top measure of three drams at five minutes."

"Yes, that is correct."

"Can we use this for other people who have been using the Little Death?" Shirayuki asked hopefully.

"No. I was on a very minor dose, sufficient for our needs. The process is different for them."

"Do you know it as well?"

Ilena paused. Obi perked his ears up. "There is a research paper being written with the process in it. It is not mine to say at this time."

Shirayuki's mouth formed into an "oh" and Obi's eyebrows raised in surprise. They understood the importance of research, papers and publications to the individual researchers from her time at Lyrias, but this was an unusual topic. "It is not your research?" Shirayuki asked.

"No, my lady. I have not such time as to devote to full time research." Ilena's breathing was becoming a little labored.

"Are you in pain?" Obi asked her.

"I am...tired. I think the pain...is translating to ...weariness."

Shirayuki looked curiously at Obi, and he explained, "She told me when I came in that she was awake because she was not feeling pain. This was likely a combined effect of the pain medication you gave her and the pain reducing effects of the Little Death."

Shirayuki nodded and annotated the medical record, deciding that that information was also significant. "Then, Miss Ilena,..."

"She is asleep, Mistress," Obi said quietly.

"Eh? Oh." Shirayuki nibbled on the end of her pen. "Well, that was a surprising source of help, wasn't it?"

Obi nodded. Not only surprising, but suspicious. Was Miss Ilena the one who had supplied Alise with the proper dosages before leaving the village? Again things pointed to Miss Ilena being the culprit of the death of the Lady wife of the Earl, or of being the third party behind the death of the first assassin by the second. Not that he could rule out coincidence or the hand of the Earl. There were still too many unknowns, but if Ilena was now guaranteed to remain alive, he would have the time to hear what she had to say for herself. In the meantime, "Mistress, it really is time to go if we are going to carry out the farce that Miss Ilena is dead."

Shirayuki nodded, setting the medical record down on the table. "Let us go then, and return when we can."

"I believe that she will continue to rest quietly. We could leave now and return after dark, now that we know we do not have to be present to administer the drug until after midnight and it is already made for today."

Shirayuki thought about that, then shook her head. "That might be easiest for the farce, but I would like to be here to watch her progress through the day. We are still in the danger zone for her recovery at this time."

"Could the Doctor watch over her?" Obi wanted to make sure she wasn't just working too hard.

"Mmm...I suppose he could. He could cover for us while we are gone, of course, but still, where would we go and what would we do? You suggested last night that others could pose as us and ride out."

Obi considered it, then rejected it. "We need to be seen leaving. There are no guards who can pose for us close up. However, we needn't go far, if we have a place in hiding we can trade with substitutes. They can continue on to the castle and we can ride back as if we were them. Do you think you could sit a horse by yourself for the trip back, or should we walk back?"

Shirayuki considered. She had been practicing with Obi a little, and she was fairly balanced on horseback now. She was just tentative in her handling skill. Still, she wanted to be away the least time possible and horseback would get them back sooner. "If there is a horse that will obediently follow your horse, I think I would rather do that."

"Okay, Mistress, then if you will kindly pack your things, I will pack mine, then we will go to say our farewells to the Captain. There should be time to write our reports to Master while we wait for the plan to be readied. We can send them with the soldiers who go to the castle in our place."

-o-o-o-

The next three nights they were able to sleep earlier in the evening and awaken shortly after midnight in preparation for the Little Death side effects to occur. The sleep talking periods were continuously embarrassing and difficult for Obi to listen to, but since Ilena only ever called Wellesley's name, Shirayuki continued to remain oblivious.

Shirayuki experimented with giving Ilena the painkilling medicine at various times each night, attempting to get the pain of the hip reduced sufficiently that her cries were only from the repayment pain. She also secretly hoped it would reduce those pains somewhat, thereby reducing the pain of the listeners. By the end of the third night, she felt like she had a rudimentary idea of the best timing combination.

The time of lucidity was definitely decreasing. Ilena had talked to them briefly the first night, had reacted to their talking to each other the second night, and on the third night, just to be sure, Shirayuki had held her hand. She had spoken briefly, just to say, "now" and squeeze Shirayuki's hand. Then, each night, she had faded into sleep and the two caretakers had made their medical notes and returned to their beds.

During the days, Obi fretted and Shirayuki studied until she sent him off to disturb Dr. Bonner, who on the third day sent him off to disturb the Captain. There, Captain Grey handed him a set of papers. "I've received these yesterday and today. I thought it best to wait until you came to get them rather than expose you to more soldiers than need to know you are here."

"Thank you," Obi said, taking them. He decided to read them there so that if an immediate response was needed he could leave it with Captain Grey for delivery.

Two were for him, and one for Shirayuki. He opened his two, put them in order of delivery, then began to read them. The first was just a general response to the report he had sent with the fake Obi. The second was orders. He wondered what had happened at the castle in one day to make Master suddenly go from patient to impatient. As he didn't have anything to report back yet, he tucked the three letters into his jacket and said goodbye to the Captain, stealing an apple off his food tray on the way out. He took the roof route and took some time to sit out of sight where he could look east out over the hills towards the castle, enjoying a brief view of freedom while he contemplated his most recent orders and what exactly to do about them.

Shirayuki sighed and put down the letter Zen had sent to her.

"Was Master properly apologetic, Mistress?" Obi asked her.

She chose not to answer.

 _Oh, dear._ "Well, perhaps he feels it best to properly apologize in person, then, Mistress?"

She gave him a look that said, _Don't push it_ , and he backed off, but that told him the tact to take. "Mistress, Master has sent me orders that arrived this morning, a day after he sent these letters. In order for me to carry out his orders, I need to ask that you please let me take care of Miss Ilena alone at night until she has completed the course of her recovery." Before she could get angry about being cut out of the loop again, he hurried on, "Master would like to know if using this low dose of the Little Death can be used for interrogation reliably. While there isn't much time left in Miss Ilena's case to experiment, our past relationship is such that I will know if it is possible based on the answers she gives to my questions during the sleep talking phase of the night. I would ask that you not be present as the information she and I will talk about is personal to myself." There, he'd been as open as he could.

Shirayuki sat quietly for several moments, balancing her need to continue to be in control of her patient during a touchy time with her desire to be a strength to both Obi and Zen. Though, when it was put that way… "I will make up the appropriate dose each evening for you, then, and give her the appropriate painkilling medicine at the right time myself. Please continue to keep the medical record updated precisely and let me know when she has completely recovered. If there is any difficulty, you are to tell me immediately."

"Yes, Mistress," Obi bowed slightly, "Thank you."

That night, Obi was oddly nervous. It wasn't like Ilena was going to be awake or remember the brief conversation they might not even have, but he still would have to, on some level, admit to her who he was. That went entirely against his self-preservation instincts. He lay on his bed, hands behind his head, one leg propped up on his other knee, wondering just what he should ask. It should probably, for this first one at least, be somewhat related to whatever her dream was. It would be easiest to steer the conversation where he wanted it to go if he started wherever she was, but that made it difficult to prepare a question set ahead of time.

He dozed off lightly at some point, coming back awake when her breathing switched to the more ragged breaths that indicated the dreams were about to begin. He sat up, cross-legged on the bed, relaxed and waiting for her to begin.

"Here you are, Wellesley. See, I've found you. I'm here." She was dreaming of one of the times he had been punished and gone into hiding and she had come to find him. "What has happened? Will you tell me?"

"You have been hurt because of me." Obi answered her, hoping he'd been faster than the dream Wellesley, glad to have an easy opening at the beginning.

"It is of no consequence, Wellesley. I can bear all things if you are free." That seemed to follow his comment.

"But why? Why are you willing to bear such horrible things because of me?"

"...because I love you."

"Do you still love me, even after all these many years of pain and effort?" This was a change of time. Would it work?

"Yes, Obi, I do." Obi leapt up to see if her eyes were open and she was awake. She was not. He shook.

"Why?!" It was the only thing he could find in his shocked mind to ask.

"Because you are mine, and I have been waiting for you to be strong enough for me."

That was the answer he was expecting, but… "How is that 'loving' me?"

"Because I cannot give myself to you until you are strong enough to bear the burden that is me."

 _Wha…? What kind of an answer is that?!_ "What is the burden that is Ilena?"

"...I can only answer that question to Zen."

She was gone from the dream state. Obi prepared for the payment of pain state, making sure the next dose of the drug was at hand, setting aside his reaction to the session during the time he needed to focus on getting the timing right. Thankfully he did not have to hold her down due to the level of pain being somewhat reduced by the painkilling medicine. He did gingerly hold her hand so that he would be sure to give her the draught at the right time. The tears began, though there were not many, then she sighed. Obi immediately raised her head and gave her the dose. "Thank you'" she said faintly, then she was gone, asleep for the remainder of the night.

Obi recorded the medical information in the journal, then lay down in his bed, trying to put it all together in his head, as if he was writing the report to Master. The subject will answer questions. It is possible to redirect the dream to the topic you wish to talk about. _Did I wish to talk about that? Well, more like I didn't wish to hear about it._ She was honest and consistent in her answers. _Well, consistent, at least. 'Honest' may be just guessing on my part._ Time frame can be modified to the present if they are dreaming about the past. _She called me Obi for the first time ever when I redirected her time frame. Does she know already that Wellesley became Obi? How!?_ And...there are things she has control of, that she will not speak about while she is dreaming, or will only speak to specific persons. This may be peculiar to her, not applicable to other users. _Again, she refers to Master familiarly. As if she knows him. And this time she says there is a thing she will only tell him. What is it and why?_

Obi frowned. He'd received useful information, but there were still plenty of questions Master would have that he could see wouldn't be answered by just testing Ilena alone. That matter of honesty was the hardest one. Was there a way to verify what was said?

Obi yawned. Well, he still had a whole day to think of it, and who knew what tomorrow night's dream would be about. There really wasn't enough time to try everything. He'd just have to do the best he could. Still...he didn't fall asleep easily. His nightmares kept resurfacing.

-o-o-o-

Ilena woke to the sound of a pen scratching on paper. That was new. Usually it was silent the rare moments she woke. Except for that time when ...it _was_ Obi, right?... had come in after talking to Miss Shirayuki and she'd badly startled him. That was funny, but frightening at the same time, his reaction. Well, on the off chance this was him and not the pharmacist...she took a deep breath, then was surprised by a yawn that overtook her. By the time she opened her eyes from recovering from the yawn, he was standing over her, his golden eyes dark with suspicion, his face closed.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked.

"Mmm..., just now." She blinked at him, then lifted a heavy hand to rub her eyes. "It is Master Obi, right?"

He considered his answer. "Yes."

"May I please have some water, and perhaps a little something mild to eat?"

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "One moment," and he disappeared from her sight.

Ilena sighed. It was going to be hard being on her back for six weeks. Not being able to see the little world around her, let alone move about as she was used to. It was nice being able to rest for once _. If only it didn't include all the pain here at the beginning. ...But then I'd not lie still at all, would I?_

Obi returned with water and helped her to drink it. She firmly pushed her emotions down. Now was not the time to be thinking about Wellesley. She was a suspect in a murder investigation, and this was not Wellesley - at least, not any more.

"Do you think you'll actually be awake long enough for the kitchen to make you something to eat, and then eat it?" Obi asked her, a bit skeptical.

"Ah, well, ...I guess I don't know that. But, I am hungry a bit."

"Well, hunger is a good sign of healing…," he paused to think about it. "I will let Mistress know you are asking."

"Thank you," she could at least be polite.

She heard Obi move to the inner door, knock, and be called in. She also heard him talking to Miss Shirayuki, though he spoke quietly. Ilena had been on hyper alert for so many years her hearing was no longer normal, or so the earldom support staff had always said. "Mistress, Miss Ilena is awake and asking for food. I have given her some water to drink already."

"Oh? Already? That is good." Shirayuki paused for thought. "I will prepare an herbal tea that has restorative properties and some nutrients in it. That should be sufficient for today, and not take too long to prepare. It is not likely she will be awake long enough for the kitchen to prepare anything. We can let them know to have something on hand for tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mistress. I will return to sit with her," Obi said.

He walked back into his room, leaving the door open slightly as an invitation to Shirayuki to come in when she was ready. Ilena could tell because the door did not click closed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself. She and small rooms did not get along well.

"Asleep already?" Obi said over her.

She opened her eyes. "Was that a joke?" Ilena was seriously curious. It had actually sounded like he'd had a bit of teasing in his voice.

"Perhaps," he said noncommittally.

 _Amazing_. "I...," she closed her mouth. What she had to say wouldn't matter.

"What is it?" he asked her, not letting her get away with it.

So she changed what she was going to say. "I think you have some questions for me?" It didn't fool him, she could see, but he went with the flow.

"I have lots of questions, of course," he settled into his chair and she turned her head to be able to see him. "However I'm never quite sure how long you will be awake. Do you know this time?"

Was he stalling for time to figure out which question to ask, or did he want to see what she would volunteer? "No," she answered obediently. She really was still at a point where she could only let her body do what it was going to do.

"Then let's start with, who prepared and gave Miss Alise the Little Death to give to you?"

Investigation, then. How to answer honestly without the details...would she be able to stay awake long enough for the full answer? Probably not, it was a long story. "The Earl's physician."

"I found the assassin dead by the hand of yet another assassin. He wasn't hard to find, so I assume he was left findable on purpose. Who is the third party that hired the second assassin?"

That was a surprising question. Ilena considered the options. "There are several possibilities, I guess. The Earl has more than one...associate who would like to see him fall."

"Are you one of them?"

Ilena allowed the surprise to register on her face. "I would think you would already know the answer to that. I do not hide my hatred of him, particularly at night. However, it wasn't me. As I said before, I was not privy to his plans, so could not prepare an appropriate counter-defense."

Obi tilted his head, "Defense?"

"I do not have the resources to attack anything, Master Obi."

"How long have you been on the Little Death?"

"Mmm...nine years, approximately?"

"Nine years!" Obi was visibly shocked.

"Nine years for what?" Shirayuki entered the room, carrying a slightly steaming cup.

"She says she's been on the Little Death for approximately nine years!"

Shirayuki stopped and the cup almost slipped from her grasp. "Nine...ye-ars. Oh, my."

Obi swiftly and carefully took the cup from Shirayuki, set it on his desk, and gave her his chair.

Ilena sighed internally. It looked like she was going to have to try to give the long story. And whatever was in the cup smelled good, too.

"Why are you not dead yet?" Obi asked his next question. It looked like it had been a burning curiosity for some time.

This time, Ilena actually sighed. "You are asking for the long answer. I cannot guarantee I can stay awake for the whole thing."

"Please try," this time it was Miss Shirayuki. She sounded like she had just, for her, given an order.

"Very well. May I please have a little of the tea, first, then?" If she didn't ask for some now, she might not get any. Obi obliged, giving her a few sips to the equivalent of a large gulp. She looked at them both, taking in the sight of them while waiting for Obi to set the cup back down.

"Beginning at the age of fourteen, Earl College took me with him whenever he left the earldom manor, saying he could no longer leave me with the rough men to watch over me. When I was fifteen we went with a small number of his men to Lyrias. He'd heard of a man who was a surgical researcher. To this day I don't know if he had a particular use for the man in mind or if he was just intrigued by the concept that there was a man who would cut up cadavers for fun. Perhaps he thought that if there was such a man, he would be more trustworthy - in the Earl's eyes - to handle the medical needs of the household, in that he wouldn't complain about the Earl's own...lifestyle."

"We could tell that he was, at some level, a pariah to the other researchers at Lyrias by the way they looked horrified that Earl College was even asking after the man. Looking around his laboratory, it was also obvious that he was sorely lacking in funding. He didn't have a patron, or was in the process of losing one, was my guess. I think both the Earl and I could tell he would cave fairly quickly if he could be convinced even against his morals. The Earl tried to fight and belittle his morals, and he only stood firmer. That was a good thing, in my eyes. Before he became too set against the idea, I interrupted the Earl and suggested that we give him time to consider the offer. The Earl agreed, and we left. Outside the laboratory, I offered to go back in and try once more to persuade the researcher. He looked at me with his wolf's smile. 'That's why I brought you along, dear Ilena,' he said."

"I wanted the researcher for my own purposes as I needed an ally to help the people of the household. So I approached him by telling him that directly. I admitted to him that Earl College was not a patron most people would want to accept. I asked him to allow Earl College to be his patron in providing a place, and plenty of bodies to research on, but to allow me to be his patron in that I would provide myself as a shield for him against the worst of Earl College's requirements. I would also provide in myself a living specimen for the final phase of his research - that is taking his theory to practice - provided it wouldn't result in my own death nor interrupt my own purposes. In return, he would be a shield with me between Earl College and the innocent members of the house who couldn't protect themselves."

Ilena paused to rest. Yes, this story was going to be too long, but she would give it her best. She felt hands on her and was surprised. Shirayuki was holding her head and offering her the cup again. She drank a little more. "Thank you," she said when Shirayuki let her go again and replaced the cup on the desk.

Shirayuki nodded, "Please continue if you can."

Ilena noticed Obi had an interesting soft look on his face as he looked at his Mistress. _Ah, he loves her. She must be kind frequently. That is a good thing._ She took a deep breath and continued.

"I was unable to convince him immediately, of course, so I didn't try. I merely asked him to consider it and told him the name of the inn we were staying at and when we would be leaving Lyrias. If he wished to come with us he should contact us before we left. I was relieved to see him enter the inn the next morning with his bag of instruments in hand. In this way, Doctor Elliot came to the Earldom of Farmore and became my ally in behalf of the household."

"Because Earl College's distrust of those around him is the cause of most of the damage to them, I asked the surgeon to help with this. After some time, he came to me and said he believed he'd found a potential solution and invited me to visit him at night. At the time, the Little Death had been recently introduced into Wilant, and a number of the Earl's men had begun taking it. Doctor Elliot showed me how those who take the drug talk in their sleep just before screaming. He explained that if given daily, they don't die, but continue to talk in their sleep. At the time it seemed very extreme to me. He explained that this was when the drug is taken straight, as several grains on the tongue. He believed that if it were taken as an infusion or tincture, the severity of the symptoms would be lessened. If Earl College could hear each night what his household members thought about, wouldn't that help to decrease his distrust, and calm him? Particularly if he believed that the unconscious words were truth?"

"As I could see how to speak so that Earl College might believe this, and we hadn't yet found any other possibilities in nearly an entire year, I decided that we might at least try the experiment. More and more of Earl College's bully men were using this drug, and he didn't really care whether they lived or died - just that there were enough to carry out his orders, so I agreed to allow the experimentation. As a matter of fact, because they were able to be more effective, he encouraged its use among his men. I confiscated all Little Death that came into the house and gave it to the Doctor. If the men wanted it, they had to participate in the experiment. After nearly three-quarters of a year of research to find just the right dosages for the sleep talking to be manifest with the least amount of other side-effects possible and the correct dosing for withdrawal without death, we spent the remainder of that year experimenting on me. I'm afraid that was a difficult thing for poor Doctor Elliot to sit through. On more than one occasion when I entered the lucidity phase, he had tears coursing down his face."

Ilena closed her eyes, remembering.

"You've been on the Little Death ever since then?"

"In the main." Ilena paused again. She could feel she didn't have much time left. How much more should she tell? "When we were ready, I approached Earl College and told him, 'I know you keep me by your side in the hopes that Wellesley will return for me and you'll be able to have him again then. You also know of my hatred for you and that I'm incapable of doing anything about it. But you cannot know of anything else I'm thinking or planning. If I were to give you a way to know that, would you find peace?' He was disbelieving but intrigued. I explained that because I would be taking a drug, and talking in my sleep, he could have confidence that I wouldn't be in control of what I was saying. He could then listen to me during the sleep talking phase and know what it was that was in my head. He liked the idea and agreed to it. I believe that first night it was more that he was thinking it would at least be a fun diversion."

"That evening, Earl College watched as the Doctor gave me my dose of the drug. He stayed in the room with me that night, but in the morning he was gone. When he came to the table late in the morning, he grinned widely. 'It's as you say, you love my little brother and hate me. The best part was getting to listen to you cry out in agony when the drug punished you after you told me these things.' He coldly ordered me to continue to take the drug. For many nights thereafter he was in my room every night at the time of the symptoms, waiting to hear what I would say."

"I've heard what you say in your sleep to and about him. How is it he didn't kill you?" Obi asked his burning question again.

Ilena smiled a tired smile. "Indeed. I did keep waiting to die, but I continued to awaken each morning. He didn't like hearing it night after night, but because it didn't change nor waver, it began to soothe his heart, as we'd hoped, and his daily language and attitude towards me became less threatening. Then came a day when he was furious at one of the men of the household and condemned the man to punishment. The man, innocent of the accused deed, pled with Earl College that he be allowed to take the same drug I'd been taking to prove his innocence, rather than to be punished. Earl College allowed it. I wasn't surprised by the plea of the innocent man as many household members were aware of the changes in Earl College towards me and why. I was pleasantly surprised that he was finally able to reign in his anger and consider the option. He was content after a few nights of listening to the man. After this, household members condemned to punishment began to plead for this option regularly, until many were, on their own, going to Doctor Elliot or myself and requesting that they be able to take the drug before coming under Earl College's displeased eye. We strove to find the best doses for the young and aged who came to us, and we were sure to never give a stronger dose than necessary to any of them, in the main keeping the dose low enough to cause a minimum amount of pain. Though I worried for them in this, they said the pain of the drug was worth the cost to prevent the pain of the Earl's punishment."

"The Earl's punishment is worse than the pain of the drug?" Shirayuki was disbelieving.

"Yes, Miss Shirayuki, very much so," Ilena answered soberly.

"Mistress, the first night you experienced this drug Ilena was reliving her own punishment by the Earl, ...by what she was saying in her sleep talking that night," Obi recovered from almost giving himself away. "If you recall, her pain that night was severe."

Shirayuki nodded, going a little pale.

Ilena paused, resting and putting the remainder of her thoughts together. "As more and more people chose to 'give away all their secrets' at night, and Earl College could enter any room at night to hear what they were, he became much calmer and the household began to function more ably as a result. This allowed my overall influence on the house to be seen by Earl College, and he assigned me to be his steward. After a time, he began to order certain people to stop taking the drug. He no longer wished to hear their 'babble', as he put it, and he knew he could make them take it again anytime he ordered it. Eventually most of the household was quiet again. He didn't allow me to ever go off the drug, however, nor did I ever request to. In this manner we were able to maintain a sort of truce. He could trust me as long as I took the drug, and I could control him to a degree as a result. However, he's finally cast me off, and I may finally be rid of the drug." She smiled at Shirayuki. "Thank you for helping me to do so."

"You're welcome," Shirayuki answered, almost automatically. She looked at Ilena, who was fading. It had taken a lot to tell that story. "Are you able to finish the tea, Miss Ilena?"

Ilena roused slightly. "I would like that, please."

Shirayuki lifted her head again and gave her the last of the restorative tea. "We'll have some pottage ready for you when you wake again. It will be good to have you building up your strength again."

"Thank you." Ilena was very quickly asleep thereafter.

-o-o-o-

"What an amazing story, Obi," Shirayuki looked at him, her eyes wide.

He nodded, "Amazing enough to make you wonder if it's really true."

She shook her head, almost upset with him. "Obi, you're too distrusting. She wouldn't have told a story that long and involved if it weren't true. She's too weak and tired still for making up such a thing. I don't think a lie would be worth such an effort."

"You are right, of course, Mistress. I'm sorry." Obi was quick to apologize. Almost too quick. It made Shirayuki feel like she was being pandered to and she glared at him. When he noticed her glare, he changed the subject. "Ah, Mistress, speaking of being hungry, it's time for our lunch. Shall we go and find it?"

While she wasn't done being upset with him, she didn't see that continuing would have a point. She put her hood up to hide her hair and they left the room. As they walked to slip into the kitchen unseen by the soldiers just drifting in for lunch, Shirayuki remembered that Obi and Ilena were likely family from a young age. She wondered if he'd been in that household as well. He had talked as if he understood about the pain of the 'punishment' of the Earl. After they'd put in their request for some pottage to be ready for the next day and collected their lunches, they returned to the surgery wing to eat their lunch in the small courtyard that was surrounded by the halls of the wing. It was one of the few times they allowed themselves to get out of their rooms.

Finally Shirayuki worked up the courage to ask, "Obi, were you ever punished by the Earl?"

He was silent for a while, but she hadn't really thought he'd be willing to talk about it. He finally answered, though. "Yes, and by his father multiple times." She turned to him in surprise and dismay, but he put up a hand forestalling her. "...Miss Ilena has always been that way, from the time I knew her." Shirayuki held still, amazed Obi was willing to talk to her about it, scared if she moved he would stop. "The pain from those times no longer exists for me because she was there to remove it, so Mistress doesn't need to worry for me." He smiled encouragingly at her.

"Obi...so you believe her story?"

He was thoughtful, perhaps a little...sad? "...Yes, I think I do. It isn't unlike her character, as I knew it then, to wish to help the people of the household and protect them. Many of the other things she describes about the Earl hold true to my memory and understanding. I think it's that I don't wish to believe the method she and Doctor Elliot chose to use. The Little Death is not a drug to be used lightly."

Shirayuki didn't think they had used it lightly, and likely Obi didn't believe that either. It was something else. "It's hard to know someone you care about has had to go through great pain and difficulty." She wanted to reach out and touch his pain away, but withheld out of respect. Obi looked at the ground. Shirayuki wanted to support him, but what could she say? "Miss Ilena will be off of it finally very soon, and Zen will place her where she can be safe from it happening again. I'm glad, for your sake, you're able to be a part of helping to release her from that pain she has carried."

Obi looked up at her, then smiled, "Thank you, Mistress. You are always too kind." He stood up and stretched. "Well, I have a lot to write about to Master now. Poor Obi's hand is going to fall off." He held out his hand to her to help her up from the ground. She accepted it, standing, and as she did so, she hoped he understood that she did care for him and wanted to see him happy.

-o-o-o-

Obi saw his Mistress to her room, then returned to the courtyard. He stood there briefly, then went up on the roof to the place where he could look out over the hills towards the direction of the castle. _Master, what am I to do?_ He sat and thought of a lot of nothing for a while. His orders held him still, but his inner confusion called to him to run in the direction he was looking. _Am I too close to this to be of use to Master? If my emotions can't be controlled, how can I be effective?_ Finally he sighed and stood in preparation to return to his room. He would just have to tell Master what had happened, how it had affected him, and let Master decide. He would interrogate Miss Ilena again tonight during the sleep talking and then send his report.


	5. Obi is Tied to Ilena

**CHAPTER 5 Master and Mistress Tie Obi to Ilena**

Zen set Obi's report down. He had decided to read it aloud to Mitsuhide and Kiki. He wasn't the sort to keep important reports from his close aides. He also wasn't the kind to be callous for the sake of convenience. He had settled on reading it aloud as a compromise.

"So, Obi knows her…," Mitsuhide mused aloud the confirmation Obi had given to their guess.

"I take it you left out the personal bits, then," Kiki said.

Zen nodded, looking back at the last part of the report. Obi had 'interviewed' Ilena again the second night, only that time she had dreamed about Earl College again. Obi had tried to get her to talk about something completely different, but she could not be turned from the topic she had started with, and the sleeptalking time period had ended short as well. That did not bode well for what he had been hoping to use the lesser form of the drug for, though from the first experiment the night before that, it looked like it might have some potential. He sighed, wondering if they might get another chance to experiment with it. If it did not have to come at the cost of death for the one being interviewed, it could be very useful. Then there was the researcher who already had the data. Could he get hold of that person and their research paper first? If he could, he'd put him to work to get the answers Zen was looking for.

"Well, it looks like the research for using the Little Death as an interrogation drug will have to be put on hold for now," he said giving voice to the summary of his thoughts. "I'd like to go visit Miss Ilena myself within the next week or so to see what she will tell me directly. I believe it could be highly productive if it is as Obi says, that she has always been against the Earl from the beginning. I'd like to keep our investigation going at this end so that I can confirm her willingness to help. Please put the visit into my schedule, Mitsuhide." Mitsuhide nodded.

Kiki looked at Zen. "What are you going to do about Obi?"

"He will have to work it out himself. I need him there and I trust his judgement, regardless."

"Hmmm….yes, he is rather the naturally suspicious sort, even if it is himself he doesn't trust, but do you really think he'll stay there and not come here?"

Zen looked at her, rolling his pen between his fingers. "No, I don't. Not if we wait too long to go. I do trust he won't leave if staying is important."

"As long as he has orders to keep him busy, staying is important," Mitsuhide said matter of factly, looking up from his work.

Zen nodded. "I want him to find Doctor Elliot."

-o-o-o-

Obi stared at the order in his hand, his stomach doing flips. How was he to find a man, when the last place he had heard that man belonged was a place that for Obi to enter meant death? But...he couldn't refuse an order from his master. To make his mood worse, he had been unable to make any progress with Ilena last night again. She was utterly refusing to talk about how it was she knew Master. How could such a thing really be possible when she was asleep? Shouldn't her mind be more susceptible to suggestion then? He crumpled the paper in his hand. Was Master really trying to make this difficult?

"What is it that makes Master Obi so cross? Is it a matter I may be of help to?"

He turned his head and looked across the room. He had fled to his room after receiving and reading the order, as if fleeing to his safe hole, and was lying on his bed in his thinking position. "I have been told to find a man in a place I may not go to," he grumpily told the recently awakened Ilena.

"Hmmm… That does seem like a difficulty."

He looked at her. Though she had said Doctor Elliot worked for the Earl, she had also said he had provided the first two days of the drug to her. "Where is Doctor Elliot?

"Knowing such a thing will ease Master Obi's mind?" He didn't answer. She looked up at the ceiling. "I cannot tell you where he _is_ , but I can tell you where he _is not_." She looked back at him. "He is not at Farmore manor. No good thing remains there. It could be altogether burned down with its current occupants inside and there would be none who would cry."

That was harsh, but Obi felt momentarily like he would like to just go and do that. "You said he provided the Little Death for you your first days after the accident, and I presume he did so before that as well?"

Ilena was shaking her head. "We had parted ways already and I was preparing my own doses while the Lady and I were here. If he provided those doses it was because someone sent word to him I was injured and unable to help myself. It is likely he prepared them and sent them back with the messenger, but did not come himself."

That bore out based on his previous investigations, but it meant someone knew how to find him. "Did he return to Lyrias?"

"No. There is nothing there for him."

Obi was beginning to feel better. Doctor Elliot was not at Farmore Manor, nor had he travelled the great distance to the west to Lyrias. He was a researcher, and researchers needed patrons, money, and supplies. It was a good bet he had gone to a place with many people where he could hide and search for a new patron. If he was still close enough to call upon to aide Ilena, he was in all likelihood at Wilant City, the town attached to Castle Wilant. That was a place Obi _could_ go. If Doctor Elliot could not find a patron, he would leave there and go elsewhere, maybe even south to the capitol of Clarines, Wistal. Obi would have to move fairly quickly if he did not want him to leave before he found him.

"Master Obi…" Ilena called to catch his attention. "Your gloom has cleared. ...May I please have my promised meal now?" She was smiling as if she had made a joke.

"Ah," he sat up, having been reminded that she had not woken up the previous day. He smiled teasingly in return. "Hoping for a reward for good behavior, eh? I suppose that can be arranged."

He went to Shirayuki's door and requested if she would be willing to fetch the pottage. He wanted to ask more of his other questions while Ilena was awake. As he walked to stand next to her, she reached out and grasped his sleeve. The look she gave him was very serious.

"Doctor Elliot is a very important person to me. Please promise me you will treat him well. He is still someone I will protect." Obi nodded. Master did not intend to misuse the Doctor. "Then...he will be willing to do as Prince Zen directs. But...do not go looking yet, Master Obi," her eyes were pleading and she clutched at his sleeve tighter.

"Why?" He asked coldly, suddenly suspicious.

"As long as I am believed dead, you will not find him. When Zen is willing to acknowledge I am alive, then he will be made easily available to you."

He twitched his arm and she let go of his sleeve. "Why is that, Miss Ilena?"

She looked sad. "It is as I have said. It is my role to protect the innocent and the good of the house of College. As long as they are afraid their protection is gone, they will trust no one, not even you."

 _Not even me? What does she mean by that? Do they all know who I was, who I am?_ That thought frightened him viscerally and he took a step back from her. "I will decide my own actions."

"Of course, Master Obi." He had the sense that if she had been standing, she would have bowed. "I am sorry for saying such unreasonable things."

He turned away from her, walking to the desk and placing his hand on it, giving himself time to recover. It really hadn't been an unreasonable request, rather she was saying she would suggest he just waited until he was handed what he wanted, instead of waste a lot of effort. That wasn't what was bothering him.

"Miss Ilena," he could tell he sounded dangerous, but that was how he felt, "There are yet a few remaining things that I need to have answered by you." He turned and looked her in the eye. She returned the look, passive yet receptive, the perfect steward's face. "Who do you think I am?"

"You are Sir Obi, personal messenger and third knight to Second Prince Zen, protector of Lady Shirayuki, Prince Zen's beloved."

His expression did not change. "Who do you think I was?"

"Wellesley College, third son of the previous Earl, heir to the Earldom Farmore."

 _Hisssss_. "Why do you think that?"

"Circumstantial evidence and personal belief."

"You have no solid proof."

"No."

"Please refrain from such a belief. I am not he."

She stared at him, a look he remembered from long ago, one he had never had cause to flinch from before. He forced himself to hold his ground.

"As you wish, Sir Obi." It was the tone of total acceptance and obedience, but he knew she did not believe him, because never had he seen anyone lie to her and not be found out. It would be enough, because she had also never complained about being lied to. But, somehow...he squashed the thought. It would get him into trouble.

"And, finally, Miss Ilena, …" There was a knock at the door and Shirayuki entered with Ilena's pottage.

Shirayuki saw the dark look on Obi's face and stopped. "I'm sorry. I am interrupting."

Obi, trying to control his anger that he had worked so hard to learn to control, said, "No, please, feed Miss Ilena, Mistress. I need to go out for a bit," and he left quickly, leaving not only the ground but the garrison as well. He would return when he had recovered his ability to stay calm.

-o-o-o-

"I don't think I have seen Obi so angry in a long time," Shirayuki said in awe and sorrow. She turned to Ilena. "Miss Ilena, what have you done?"

Ilena looked at her sorrowfully. "I have answered his questions truthfully." She paused, looking at Shirayuki, even through and into her for a moment. "I see that you care for him. Thus, I will tell you, he is not so much angry as he is afraid - because I know his distant past and his present and he never wanted the two to meet. Truly, Miss Shirayuki, I never wanted to cause him pain. ...He has refused me, saying he is not the person I believe him to be. Therefore, to me he is not. Please let it lie."

Shirayuki wondered just how it was that Ilena knew she was trying to come up with something comforting to say. So instead she asked, as she sat near Ilena, preparing to feed her, "Why is he so afraid of his past?"

Ilena swallowed the first spoonful, then answered, "Because that past was full of darkness and death. For anyone to know of his present connection to that past is to present to him his own death."

Shirayuki fed Ilena more spoonfuls of the pottage and Ilena ate hungrily. When she was nearing full, she paused in her eating. "You are still thinking on it, Miss Shirayuki."

"Yes," said Shirayuki slowly. "Are you a danger to Obi?"

"No, Miss Shirayuki. My only role in this life is to be a protector of others, and Obi have I protected since we were very young. He will not die, and most assuredly he will not die because of me. If I cannot help him to understand because he will not, then I will continue as I have before - protecting him from a distance without any acknowledgement. The one does not require the other."

Shirayuki thought on that for a moment, feeding Ilena a few more spoonfuls until she refused saying she was finished. "What is Obi to you?" Shirayuki finally asked.

Ilena looked at her with a little surprise, then said, "The man I love and wish to stand next to the remainder of my days."

Shirayuki sat in shock, the gears of her mind halting. Ilena waited quietly. When Shirayuki finally had her thoughts going again, she looked at Ilena, only to find she had fallen asleep again. Shirayuki put her hand to her head. "He is the man you love and you are willing to accept that he will not acknowledge you? Surely only the strength of love can allow you to abide such a thing. ...I think I shall let Zen know these things you have told me. Only he can see the entire picture and know how to help Obi."

For the next six days Shirayuki nursed Ilena and Obi did not return. During this time Ilena was fully weaned off the Little Death, and was clear-eyed in the mornings. Shirayuki was glad to finally have full nights of sleep again, unfilled with cries of pain.

On the seventh day, Zen came, bringing with him Obi again, Mitsuhide and Kiki at his back as always. He first visited with Shirayuki in the courtyard of the surgery wing. Shirayuki thought the way Mitsuhide and Kiki flanked Obi he was there against his will, more as a prisoner than a returning guard. Perhaps Zen had punished Obi for leaving his duty and was making him to return to it, but looking at Mitsuhide and Kiki, it seemed also likely that they were there to strengthen Obi during a time of weakness. It would not be surprising if it was both, really. All three stood very formally along the edge of the courtyard near the hallway.

"It is good to see you again, Shirayuki," Zen greeted her slightly more formally than his usual manner. "I apologize for my lateness in coming."

Shirayuki waited. She had not forgotten that he had prevented her from performing her duties effectively. "Thank you for coming," she said formally after a moment.

"I am sorry for not considering you seriously in the matter regarding the Little Death. It was not wise of me to put protecting you above your needs in regards to completing your work effectively." One of the things Shirayuki really loved about Zen was his ability to admit his errors, quickly and without deflection.

She had also been considering what Obi had said to her when he had been so candid about what Zen's order to him had been and what his needs were. "I apologize for not trusting that your intentions were good, and for not remembering that there are times when it is not possible for a Prince to say all things that are within his mind."

Zen offered a peace offering. "Is there anything that you need at this time that I can be of assistance with?"

Shirayuki answered, "Miss Ilena is no longer under the influence of the Little Death, and her eyes are clear. However, I seem to be missing a companion you required should stay with me and assist me in the matter." Obi had shirked his duty far too long, regardless of his anger or fear, and she was also upset with him that he would not face his past properly, though she didn't know if she could force that.

Zen turned and called, "Obi."

Obi walked up to Shirayuki and Zen, then he bowed down on one knee before Shirayuki, his fist resting on the ground. "I abandoned you selfishly, Mistress. I am sorry."

She looked at him calmly, her lips firmly pressed against each other, considering. Then she thought of Mitsuhide and Kiki. "Because you stand alone and partnerless, it cannot be forgiven lightly." She could sense the bewilderment and despair coming from Obi and the curiosity from Zen. "...Will you, Obi, return and stand in the place Zen has put you, as you ought from now on?" He nodded his bowed head once. She turned to Zen. "I will accept Obi back to stand by me if you will promise to me a partner for him that will help to remind him of his duty and will stand as a protection for him. One that I approve of."

Zen smiled a secret smile that lit his eyes. "And who is it you wish for me to prove, Shirayuki?"

"Ilena, the former steward of Farmoree."

Zen's smile moved ever so slightly to his lips. "You already approve?"

Shirayuki nodded firmly.

"You understand this will be difficult for Obi?"

"I understand it is only difficult because he will not face that which he ought to face from his past so that he may freely face his future." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Obi's ears turn faintly red.

Zen nodded. "I will test Miss Ilena. If I approve, and she is willing, you shall have her to stand by Obi."

Obi's head bowed even further in resignation. While he had earned it, it was a hard punishment to bear at this time.

Turning towards Obi's quarters, he said, "Obi, come with me." Obi rose, bowed to Shirayuki, and walked behind Zen, looking like he was going to the gallows.

Shirayuki turned to Mitsuhide and Kiki. "Thank you for supporting Zen and Obi," she said to them. Mitsuhide and Kiki nodded. "...And for supporting me," she added. They looked at her quizzically. She smiled as she said, "I would not have thought of that very appropriate punishment if it had not been for the two of you standing at Zen's back."

"Umm...Shirayuki, would it be okay if you didn't tell Obi that?" Mitsuhide asked plaintively.

"Why ever not?" Shirayuki was puzzled.

They looked at each other, then Kiki explained, "We would have been here at least two days ago, except that Obi showed up that morning in his tree. Zen managed to get him to report, but he couldn't talk Obi down from his tree. He finally had to send us to get him forcibly this morning. He even threatened to tie him to his horse."

"Ah, it isn't you," Mitsuhide hurried to reassure her.

"Though he was afraid of that too," mumbled Kiki.

Mitsuhide continued, "He cannot face Miss Ilena, even now."

Shirayuki sighed. "Yes, I know. Ilena explained to me why. It is as I said. It is because he will not properly face her and his past. He believes that to do so will bring his death upon him, but he does not properly comprehend what she has done for him until now. Zen has taken his reigns but he is still a wild stallion. I believe she can properly tame him in the ways we cannot."

Kiki looked at Shirayuki appraisingly. "Zen said as much as well. That Miss Ilena can touch Obi in places the rest of us cannot, and because of that is likely to become his greatest strength. Even if you had not suggested it, he was already minded to test Miss Ilena and place her by Obi's side."

Shirayuki was relieved. She had not asked amiss, then. It made her feel good that she had thought of a thing on her own that Zen had thought of.

-o-o-o-

The guards at Obi's door opened it for Prince Zen, then, when Obi looked like he was going to balk at entering, looked at him coldly, as if to say they would use force if necessary. They also were disappointed that he'd shirked his duty. He gave up his thoughts and meekly entered behind his Master. They closed the door with a cold 'click' that sent shudders up his spine. He stood at formal rest attention just inside the door, waiting on the will of his Master.

Zen walked to stand near Ilena where she wouldn't find it difficult to look at him and speak with him.

"Welcome, Prince Zen," Ilena was the epitome of graciousness. A gift, considering she couldn't rise from lying on her back. Obi's lips pursed in a sour expression.

"Miss Ilena," Zen looked at her. "I would have you tell me what you know."

"Yes, Regent Zen," she agreed obediently. "Please have a seat. This will take some time."

"I should think so," Zen agreed neutrally. He sat in the chair that was already set by the bed, as Shirayuki had just left it when he'd arrived.

Ilena added, "It would be helpful if notes were taken."

Zen ordered, "Obi."

Obi moved to the desk and pulled it up close to the second bed. He pulled out paper and pen, then, using the bed as his chair for the desk, readied himself to take notes. Ilena didn't look at him, nor acknowledge him.

Ilena proceeded to tell Zen many things, from the beginning as Obi had told him about the deaths of Grandfather College and Father College, to Earl College's murder of his second brother and sister-in-law, to the chasing away of his third brother who fled for his life, to her own beating when he couldn't find Wellesley with her. She then continued on, telling Zen chronologically of multiple instances of instigations of various murders and treasons he'd reasoned out and ordered through the years from that time on until the murder of his own wife. As she told of them, if they were performed with the aid of other houses, or requested by other houses, she included their names as well. When she reached the end of listing the treasonous acts, she included the names of the houses he was currently allied with. "Bring me the list of names of allies, past and present, and a pen," she required.

Zen nodded and Obi stood and took them to her. She took them without looking at him, studied the list carefully, then made some marks on the page and handed them back to Obi. Obi handed the marked page to Zen and sat back down.

"I've marked five houses with circles. These are the houses you should explore first if you don't wish to alert all of the houses of your doings. Three of them Earl College ordered eradicated in order to keep his evil deeds secret. In all five cases, there was no finding against him. He won't see with his eyes your works, even if you were to explore them deeply."

"I've marked four houses with triangles. These are alliances that are ended. Both he and all the allied houses will notice when you begin to more deeply explore them and become nervous, but they aren't likely to act if you're careful. Explore them second."

"The three X's are the current alliances. As soon as you begin to investigate them, all the roaches will scatter, the mice will pack their bags, and the evidence will begin to be removed, including my Children. Please exercise great caution and speed when you're ready to deal with these."

Zen looked at the list, "What's the meaning of the one crossed out."

"Please excuse my determination, but do not touch it! This alliance was instigated by the other party, the only one to do so. Even Earl College was reluctant at first to take the side job he was given. I've given it to you only so you may have my full knowledge of all the deeds of the house of College. You'll have enough evidence to convict him with the rest. This house will bring down you and perhaps all of the house of Wisteria if it's exposed at this time." She paused. "Please, rest assured the King is well aware of their dealings and has a plan already in place to deal with them. I beg you to not interrupt him."

Zen looked at her in surprise, but didn't answer.

"The next topic, then, if it pleases you, Regent Zen?"

He nodded.

"Earl College has at least one double, and perhaps two. If you kill an 'Earl College' you're not assured of having killed _the_ Earl College. If you don't find all of them, whomever is left will return and carry on his evil deeds. Indeed, one of them is more terrible than Marcovik himself." Zen found this sobering. "He's already set up three houses to escape to, all north into the mountains. It's likely that he and at least one other double will go there, and a third will remain at Farmore Manor. The majority of his men will be split between the closer two houses in order to weaken any pursuers and, if possible, prevent them from reaching the third house. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already sent men into those places to watch that they are kept secret and safe. If you're able to have men in position at the farthest house before he arrives, without alerting him or the men stationed at them, you'll have a greater chance of success. Bring me a map of the borderlands north of Farmore later and I'll mark where they are for you." Zen nodded.

"While he still believes that you're merely investigating the death of his Lady wife and her people, he won't be surprised with you also investigating old cases he's been involved with, but he will pay attention. He'll also be trying to understand if you've faked my death. When you dig deeper into the second level of cases, the triangles I've marked, he'll begin to assume I am still alive and will begin a slow but steady exodus into the mountains. When you seriously touch the cases marked with X's, they will all know I'm alive and have spoken to you, and will that very day disappear into the mountains, thinking to become a thorn in your side for many years to come. Adding decoy cases to your investigations will slow him down somewhat, if you feel it's necessary, and make him question whether I'm alive or not. But that is, of course, up to you."

"I'm sure you received the report that I'm the protector of the upstanding people of Farmore who were under the harsh hand of the house of College. These people I call my 'Children'. I've sent all of them away from the house little by little, and none remain there. Some of them are further witnesses to these evil and traitorous acts of Earl College and his allies. I'm willing to loan them to you temporarily if you feel you require their testimony, and if you'll promise to me that you'll see they are kept secure until after you've cleaned the house of College and it's allies, so that they don't lose their lives for that which they didn't have to. However, I will only do so one group at a time and at intervals so that their movements aren't warning signs to our enemies. When the final group is collected, it also must be done quickly and with great protections. Several of those witnesses are still within the houses of our enemies and their absence will increase the alertness of Earl College and his allies, though it shouldn't cause them to flee at first. Should they see the pattern, however, that will be telling enough and they may kill those who could have helped you, or flee prematurely."

Zen considered her words for a time after she was silent. "Thank you for telling me what you know. I would like to promise you safety for your 'Children' and request you do as you've said you would do, so that I may have further testimony against the Earl and his allies."

Ilena bowed her head in acquiescence. "Then after I'm safely at Castle Wilant, I'll give to you the first list. However, they won't go with anyone who comes for them. They will only consent to come to you if Obi himself goes to retrieve them and tells them 'Mother has sent me for you'."

Obi's head jerked up in alarm. He was ignored.

"Obi is the key?" Zen asked, a little surprised. Ilena nodded.

Zen pondered a little more. "Miss Ilena, what path do you wish to walk, now that you are no longer the Steward of Farmore?"

Ilena's eyes lit up and she stared at him fiercely, reminding Zen of a falcon that has centered on it's prey, "To stand by the side of Wellesley College - Obi, to protect Prince Zen, and to protect what Prince Zen protects. And if I cannot do that, to be set free to do my own will." Obi couldn't hold back a choked sound as she sealed his fate with her words.

Zen nodded and stood. "I'll consider it." He held his hand out for the notes Obi had taken. After he'd received them, he ordered. "You'll remain here." Obi bowed. It had to be the most depressed Obi Zen had ever seen, but he didn't let it enter his heart, and he let himself out.

Obi returned the desk to it's place, and the chair as well, then turned to face Ilena formally. She was looking at him. He supposed that might be better than having her feigning sleep.

"Welcome back, Obi. I'm sure you're tired from your travails. Please feel to rest until Mistress Shirayuki comes for the evening meal. I'll awaken you before she arrives."

He couldn't help himself. "Was this all planned out to your specifications as well?"

"No, Obi," Ilena said calmly. "Mistress Shirayuki has done what she wished in her own heart and Master Zen has followed his own as well. If you can't accept your own fault, then lay the blame at the feet of Fate or the gods. It was not mine to know that you and I would ever meet again."

"No? Then why do you, and all of your 'Children', believe that I'm Wellesley and recognize 'Obi' as the same?" His voice was snide with his frustration.

"Because you're the messenger that follows Prince Zen. Even if you'd never seen my face, when it was time for the House of College to fall, isn't it you that he would send before him to see to it?" He couldn't deny it. "And," he looked up surprised, "am I not the shield that stands before him, required to provide to him all protections necessary to his remaining Prince of Clarines, Regent of Wilant?"

Obi's eyes went wide. He couldn't understand, but he could see that she had acted in this manner. He bowed his head in defeat. "I'll rest now," he said humbly, and carefully climbed into his bed, turning his back to her and letting his troubled soul slip into the darkness, though oddly enough, it seemed to contain a spark of light beckoning him forward. He stared at it in confusion, not comprehending it, until he finally slept.

-o-o-o-

Zen walked out of Obi's room and rejoined Shirayuki, Mitsuhide, and Kiki. They were quietly talking, having already caught up while he was meeting with Ilena. They looked at him quizzically. "She wants him." He said simply and shrugged, "We'll see if she can actually catch him."

"Have you already finished testing her, then?" Shirayuki asked him.

Zen paused, then shook his head. "I've merely begun," Shirayuki looked disappointed, "but, I've never encountered such a person, I think." He paused again. Then he brandished the notes Obi had taken. "Well, take a look at this and tell me what you think," he handed them to Mitsuhide, and Kiki read them over his shoulder. Zen explained them in short to Shirayuki. She smiled, already knowing what kind of support Ilena could be, glad that Ilena had given Zen and the others more evidence of it.

Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at each other when they were done reading. Mitsuhide carefully handed the pages back to Zen. "That's rather impressive," he said carefully.

"Very thorough," agreed Kiki, just as carefully.

"What?" Shirayuki was stunned at their reactions.

Zen held up his hand, forestalling her, and she ceased, waiting. The two aides looked at each other again.

"She's listed all of the anticipated cases and confirmed the ones we weren't sure about." Kiki said, beginning to list the points they'd been looking for. "She's listed all of the known and expected allies, as well as the ones we couldn't quite name, but could see traces of."

Mitsuhide picked it up, "She's included information critical to the success of your goals, including strategy tips that are useful, but not extraneous. She's had prepared already for you additional witnesses needed to complete the legal necessities. All these things were above and beyond what was expected, though we'd hoped for even a small level of the first."

"And, not on the notes," Zen added for their benefit, "she knows the movements of my brother in the workings of Wilant, or at least where it's connected with the Earl."

"What?" they asked together.

Zen nodded. "It's made me wonder if she is one of his agents." They looked at him, not knowing how to answer. "Except, ...that one of my brother's agents wouldn't request to serve me."

"She did?" Mitsuhide asked. That was his field of testing. The head aide was so protective of the prince, no one got to serve Zen unless they passed Mitsuhide's tests.

Zen smiled at him. "To be more precise, when I asked her what path she wished to follow now that she was no longer the Steward of Farmore, she said, 'to stand by the side of Obi and protect Prince Zen and protect what Prince Zen protects. And if I cannot do that, to be set free to do my own will'."

"Ah, poor Obi," said Kiki quietly, not really meaning it. "He's left no escape, then, is he?"

Zen grinned. "No. No, he's not. Not unless she doesn't pass the test."

Mitsuhide looked thoughtful. "It doesn't look like that will happen, though, does it?"

"You think so?" Zen asked him mildly.

"I think," Kiki said slowly, "that she's moving very carefully. Stepping lightly at the first to see that she reaches her goal, whatever it is." She turned her full attention on Zen. "I think it would be wise to give her enough time to show you everything she's holding in her hand before deciding."

Zen nodded. "That's how I feel. Until I've received all the information, I can't know what she truly wishes to have."

"But, she doesn't lie," Shirayuki said, worried.

"No, that's true," agreed Zen. "She neither lies, nor withholds information specific to the questions she's asked, but she also doesn't tell everything that could be told. Therefore, I can be sure she does want to stand by Obi and serve me, but there is likely more to it than that which she is yet willing to say. There are two questions that are still open."

Shirayuki looked puzzled. He held up his hand, counting them on his fingers, "One, why does she know me, with great familiarity, when I don't know her? And, two, why does she wish me to promise I'll set her free if she can't have Obi? What hold do I already have on her that I don't know about?" He looked back at Mitsuhide and Kiki. "I think...it will be very interesting to see what she still has yet to show me."

"I think Obi would be the first to tell you she's very dangerous," said Kiki with a straight face.

"Then it is up to Obi to be sure she's contained, isn't it?" Zen answered mildly.

"We can certainly count on Shirayuki to continue to be her champion, isn't it so?" Mitsuhide turned to her and smiled.

Shirayuki went to nod, then stopped, "Well, as long as she continues to be worthy of it," she said.

They all smiled at her. "You're getting stronger, Shirayuki," approved Kiki.

-o-o-o-

Zen visited with Captain Grey briefly, long enough to create a plan to securely move Ilena to Castle Wilant when Doctor Bonner would release her to be moved there at her four week mark. Then he regretfully said his goodbyes to Shirayuki. While he and his aides would arrive at Castle Wilant after midnight, he couldn't afford to stay away for two days this time. On the way back, the three of them, surrounded by his honor guard, discussed what action items they would have now that they had this new and confirmed information from Ilena.

"Really, being a Regent is so much more work, it's difficult to learn how to pace it. Here we are riding home in the middle of the night just to get to more work. ...And right after Kiki has scolded us for not getting enough rest." He yawned, punctuating his complaint.

They smiled at him. "My father taught me this winter that when that happens, the only thing to do is to add more hands to do the work," Kiki suggested.

"Hmm…," Zen considered it. "Well, then, I think you'll have to postpone going back to him until this is completed then?"

Kiki slumped her shoulders. "Ah...well...I guess there's no helping it. But...you may have to excuse me from the battle, then."

Mitsuhide looked stricken. "What will I do, then? I won't have my left hand to protect me!" (He spoke this way because Kiki was a left-handed swordswoman.) "I shall surely die! Zen, you can't let that happen!"

"Oi, oi!" Zen waved his hand at Mitsuhide as if shooing a fly. "Would you rather go back to four hours of sleep at night?"

"Isn't that better than being dead?"

"Well, considering that I'm not sure exactly who on the staff I can trust with the information presented to me today...it may be about the same either way," Zen said seriously.

Both aides got serious as well. It was true. If there were agents of any of the lords who were accomplices of Earl College within the castle and they learned of the hunt that was on, the board would be tipped very badly against Zen. "I'll need you two to focus on this matter. I'll have the others do the other work that needs doing. ...And if we really need to add another pair of hands or two, we will see what we can do. In the meantime, ...do you think I can learn to sleep in the saddle?" He slumped down uncomfortably. "Next time, we come by carriage," he grumped, wishing right at that moment for even an uncomfortable carriage bench to be laying down on.

Mitsuhide and Kiki grinned. They were glad Zen was in a good mood.

-o-o-o-

Thereafter at Osterly Garrison, conversations between Obi and Ilena were, in the main, brief and noncommittal. The exceptions to this were the daily grilling sessions that Ilena gave Obi, and occasionally Shirayuki. She seemed intent on understanding everything there was to know about life at the castle and the people who lived there before she arrived. Once she'd picked their brains twice each on every subject she could think of, they wouldn't answer her questions any more. So she switched to quiz method, where she would tell them what she'd learned from them and they had to say if she was right or wrong. That didn't last too long either. They finally started staying away just a little more than they perhaps should have.

At some point, Shirayuki finally told her, "It's good you are working hard, but there'll be a great distance between knowing the data, and actually experiencing it."

Ilena sighed, "I know Mistress Shirayuki, but I will still have at least another two weeks or more before I'll be able to do that. I haven't been in a proper castle in ages. I'd like to not be too misinformed, if at all possible. That really wouldn't do for a guest of the Prince, even if it is a guest under house arrest."

"House arrest, Ilena?" asked Shirayuki.

"As long as Prince Zen is testing me, I'm not free to wander the castle and do as I please, am I? Whether or no I have a working hip."

"Nope," agreed Obi, who had lived it himself.

"I didn't have the trouble," Shirayuki frowned, remembering that the only trouble she'd had was with one Marquis and Obi.

Obi sighed, "Mistress has always been different in Master's eyes." Ilena nodded, agreeing.

"Oh," Shirayuki blushed. She hadn't really considered it that way before.

"It's a good thing," Ilena reassured her, "but I certainly don't expect it for myself, and it really wouldn't be right to." Obi's eyes agreed with her.

"You don't like to sit still, Miss Ilena," observed Obi.

"No," she agreed. "I've always been very busy. It's very difficult for me to have enforced quiet time."

"Does this mean that you'll get into trouble if you aren't kept busy doing good things?" He had taken to teasing her as a means to let out his frustration.

"I'm quite capable of keeping myself busy doing good things, Obi." She always responded blandly, which made him more frustrated.

"Of course," mediated Shirayuki. "Doing your best to be prepared for where you're going next is certainly a good thing to keep yourself busy doing, and is certainly better than simply being lazy."

"Please, don't encourage her today, Mistress. She has already spent the majority of it quizzing. Time to rest is useful as well."

Shirayuki sighed. She could only mediate so much between the quarrelling pair. "Obi, it's nearly time for supper. Would you be willing to go and fetch it?"

"Yes, Mistress." He bowed himself out and was glad for the open air.

"Really, Ilena. Shall I come to regret asking to have the two of you paired?" Shirayuki was getting beyond her capacity to cope.

"I'm sorry Mistress Shirayuki. I'm not skillful at handling Obi's resentment yet. My usual response to the Earl when he said such hurtful things was to ignore him. ...Would that work with Obi? It seemed to me when he is ignored he tends to fall into the darkness that's within him and it becomes too difficult to reach him. I was not wishing for that. Is there something you can tell me?"

Shirayuki shook her head. "I'm afraid Obi is very different for you than for any other person that he knows. I can't say what will or will not work. I'm sorry."

"Well, perhaps, because he chooses to take the position of an adversary, I'll try to be as polite and obliging as possible. Though...I'm afraid he also oddly affects me. It make take some training and effort to maintain such a position."

"Well, it would be nice to have some pleasant conversations again," admitted Shirayuki. "I do hope we'll be able to soon enough."

"I would like that very much as well, Mistress Shirayuki. But, if it makes you to feel better, Obi does sleep very soundly when he comes in to sleep."

"Is he still staying away until late?" Shirayuki was disappointed.

"Yes, but he's never far, usually in the courtyard or on the roof above us. And he's no longer restless during his sleep, as he was when he first returned to us. I believe that's a good sign."

"Well, we shall have to be grateful for small progresses, then."

"Yes, Mistress Shirayuki."


	6. Welcoming Ilena to Castle Wilant

_This chapter is fun, if a bit wordy in places. I was worried about writing the action...until I played with it._

 _We get to see Ryuu for the first time. Yeaay! I really like writing Ryuu into the story. It won't happen often, but he is a thread we see glistening brightly now and again._

 _Please enjoy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6 Welcoming Ilena to Castle Wilant**

Fifteen days after the accident, Doctor Bonner, who had visited regularly, did a full check on Ilena's hip in the early morning. All of her bruising was gone, which was a good sign. She also didn't have as much pain except for the odd moments. He gave her the approval to travel, though she still wasn't to sit or put any unnecessary pressure on the hip for another two weeks. With the approval of the surgeon, they all got ready to depart.

They were hoping that if there was an ambush planned, they would get through it if it looked like Ilena wasn't alive, but Zen didn't leave the safety of Shirayuki to chance. He'd worked out with Captain Grey that a small complement of soldiers would go with Obi and Shirayuki (and Ilena) as a guard. Obi would drive a wagon that would have a low cover on it. The guard with the wagon was smaller because, the thinking went, a dead body didn't need as much defending as a living one. In the wagon, under cloth, would be "Ilena's body" - actually Ilena - being transported to Castle Wistal.

It was well known that Obi had a penchant for showing up places without warning at random times, so having him there to collect Ilena's body wouldn't be too suspicious, but having Shirayuki with him would be, since she was supposed to be at the castle already. Shirayuki was given a long, hooded white cloak of the design the soldiers wore to wear as her disguise. If she was spotted in the wagon, the cloak would make it look like she was part of the guard escorting the wagon. If necessary, she could hide under the cover with Ilena. It was raised enough that Shirayuki could sit up comfortably and just see out and talk with Obi if she desired.

Behind the wagon about ten to fifteen minutes, the captain would send out a general patrol to follow it. This would be a secondary defense if they should run into a larger ambush than the smaller guard on the wagon could handle. Coming from the other direction would be Zen and another patrol coming their way. Once the wagon passed Zen's patrol, the patrol from Osterly Garrison would turn around and return, and Zen's patrol would turn around and catch up with the wagon to bring it on in. The other reason for having the patrols meet in the middle was because that was the most likely place for an ambush to have been set up. Though really, the hope was that it would be a completely uneventful trip.

The first part of it was certainly uneventful. All three of them were greatly enjoying breathing the fresh air and being out of the cramped walls of the garrison. After they left the town, there weren't many other travellers on the road. Shirayuki climbed out of the back of the wagon and sat next to Obi for company. Ilena had fallen asleep, as she still did frequently. Even though the wagon bed had been filled with straw and a sheet covered it, so that she had padding, it was still somewhat painful to travel long over the road. Sleeping was a way to reduce the pain somewhat. As they neared the half-way point, Ilena opened her eyes suddenly. "Mistress! Please come back here with me." Shirayuki looked back at her, and Ilena nodded. "It's them."

Shirayuki looked at Obi who also nodded. "If she says so, then go. She knows what they feel like." Shirayuki nodded back and carefully climbed into the bed of the wagon to sit next to Ilena.

"It will be okay, Mistress Shirayuki," Ilena told her with a smile. "Obi and Zen know what to do." Ilena looked up at Obi, who'd turned to look at her, seeing him upside down from her position. "Zen is close enough that a run should get us to him fine. If we can make the ambushers yell after us in frustration, he should hear it and come running."

Obi nodded and turned back to face the road, letting the squad of soldiers know the ambush was imminent. He reviewed in his mind the words Ilena had said to him and Shirayuki the evening before. She'd prevented him from leaving after dinner, saying she wanted to talk to them about the trip to the castle. Obi had been a little surprised that she'd automatically included Shirayuki in the conversation, since as a group it wasn't normally done, but as he thought about it, if they'd done that before, she wouldn't have been so upset with them. Perhaps Ilena was the wiser.

"As I said to Prince Zen, Earl College is very predictable. Any ambush his men may carry out will also follow and expect predictable patterns. Will you please hear my suggestions on how we may pass them?" she'd been specifically asking Obi if he would patiently hear her out, he could tell.

Remembering her interview with Zen and knowing that everything that would help them escape any attack could be critical, he'd nodded curtly.

"They'll wait until we're in the middle of trip," she'd sighed. "I would have attacked just outside the village, before any following soldiers were been sent out, mainly for logistical reasons, but that is neither here nor there. I'll know when we're near. Having lived with their kind on my guard so long, it's like I can sense them upon the stillest air from a far distance. I'll give you warning. Mistress Shirayuki, you should then come into the wagon with me. It would be best if you came and lay down with me so that if Obi needs to protect our rear he may do so without injuring you." Shirayuki had nodded. "Obi, they'll expect you to stop the cart and parlay, surrounding us at that time so we can't escape. Of course, if we do what they expect, that will be the outcome. I personally find that rather unacceptable."

"Instead, what I would do, is have the majority of the guards rush the ambushers in the front and push them to either side of the road. I would only leave one or two guards at the back of the wagon to dissuade the ambushers closing in from the sides and rear. They would find this confusing. The point, however, is that you won't stop the wagon. They'll also find this confusing, and in being confused they'll be slower to react. You may slow down the wagon as needed while the front guards open a hole, but as soon as they've opened a hole large enough for the horse - the horse mind, not the wagon - whip the horse into a full run. Don't mind me. Just get the wagon moving as fast as possible. The horses on the road will move out of the way of the wagon, so you don't need to mind them either. ...It may help to put blinders on the wagon horse, though, so as it passes through the fighting, it doesn't rear or shy from it's course." She'd frowned, thinking about it.

"The riders behind the wagon should follow it through, staying as close as possible, and protect the rear. Then the guards who've opened a space for us to pass can either remain and have fun keeping the ambushers occupied until the patrol catches up, or follow after us, as if 'running away' so that they can continue to protect us. Our goal is to remain unharmed, not to win a battle. The patrol coming after us can take up the fight with the ambushers trailing behind us. As long as we in the wagon don't stop until after we've passed Prince Zen's patrol, we'll very likely receive little to no damage, though it is possible you'll have to knock one or two extra passengers off if they can recover quickly enough." She'd looked at him speculatively. "That's what I would do, knowing how these men work. I would also have a plan in place for if there were suddenly two ambushes, the one I've described, and then another that came after we had passed Zen's patrol and before it had caught back up with us, though I don't know if one will actually be thought of. I'll let you decide what you'll do, of course."

She'd turned back to Shirayuki, "You should remember while we're going through it that you are 't a delicate wallflower waiting to be plucked. If that's what you are we should use you as trade for us to get away freely. You're someone that Zen relies on with intelligence and strength of your own. Use them freely. If someone climbs in the back of the wagon with us, what will you do? Decide now."

Shirayuki had looked at her with wide eyes, then shook her head. "I've had to deal with such things before."

"But not for a long time, I think. You've become very over-protected and are forgetting your strengths. Tell me otherwise." Ilena's challenge was absolute.

Shirayuki had gotten her firm look in her eyes. "I would slide down and kick him in the jaw to knock him loose from the back of the wagon."

"And if it only rocked his head back?"

Shirayuki looked at the scene in her head. "Um...I would stomp on his hands so he let go of the wagon."

"And then if he looked at you threateningly, so as to scare you?"

"Ah… eh…"

"You've only used one of your tools, that of your body, which is your weakest tool. You also have the tool of your voice, and the tool of your companions. You must use your voice only when needed, but never forget to use it. If you've knocked him loose enough, call to Obi so that he can throw a dagger at him, finishing the work. Obi's dagger alone will also not likely be enough to completely deter him, but working together you will both save us all from injury."

"Ah...the tool of the voice...can I also use that to call to Zen? You said if we made noise he would likely hear."

Ilena's eyes had lit up in approval. "Very good, Mistress Shirayuki. That idea also uses the tool of companions. However, you should wait until we've left enough of the ambushers behind and we are close enough for him to actually hear you. Wasting your voice early isn't helpful. However, if we were to be closed in and not able to escape, calling to the patrol behind us would be a good weapon also." Shirayuki had nodded her understanding, looking like she all of a sudden had more pluck and less fear.

"Mistress Shirayuki, also, while you can call a name, there is no weapon more formidable in a woman's arsenal than her scream. The louder and more terrified it is, the better. These men delight in hearing such a thing and it will goad them into over reaching their capabilities. The guards will react by fighting harder to protect you. Obi will cry, or laugh in delight if he knows you're using it as a weapon, and the patrols coming from either direction will spur their horses on all the faster to reach you as soon as possible. Zen will die, of course, and be angry at you later when he discovers you aren't actually injured, but that's a small price for having been spared capture, I think. I, personally, would prefer that I not have to use my own voice. It would be better for them to continue to think I'm dead. However, if it's necessary, I will." She had smiled at Shirayuki, encouragingly, and Shirayuki had looked very determined.

Obi had excused himself and went to make plans with the captain and the squad that would be assigned to the wagon. In the main he'd gone with Ilena's plan, making modifications that made more sense for the squad and typical protections. They were even now falling into those formations. As he scanned the trees around them, he could begin to sense now that they were indeed coming up on the ambush and his senses heightened all the more. Ilena's distance was pretty good when it came to sensing these men, but, as she intimated, they weren't bright.

Obi had time to remember when he'd gone back to their room. For once, he hadn't been late, excusing it because they would have an early morning, but also because he had a question for Ilena. "Why did you tell Mistress those things and include her in the discussion?" It wasn't an accusatory question. He wanted to know.

Ilena had smiled. "Obi, a person who doesn't understand a thing can only fear it. A person who doesn't understand what their weapons are and how to use them is powerless. A person who feels powerless only knows fear. Why should Mistress Shirayuki be left by us to be weakened by fear when we can give her the strength to stand and do what needs to be done? Shouldn't a person who knows a thing be willing to give understanding if it's asked for or needed?" That made sense to Obi. "...Also, if I desire to follow a mistress, isn't it my duty to ensure she has those qualities I will be obedient to? The mistress I choose to follow needs to have the power and strength of understanding and of knowing what her weapons are and how to use them. … Ah, though, it is also your duty to see I don't stray too far from the qualities that Zen desires to see, so I'll be obedient to your guidance if you see anything amiss in what I teach her."

"Why are you always so thorough in your answers?" he'd asked a bit grumpy as he'd been reminded he was her leash and she was his. Then quickly he'd followed it up with, "Never mind, don't answer that," as he saw her open her mouth. He climbed into bed and ended the conversation. But he thought about it, glad she'd aided Shirayuki to be strong, then wondering if he was afraid of Ilena because he didn't understand her. By what she'd said, did that mean she would be willing to help him understand her if he chose to ask her? He couldn't do that yet, but maybe by watching her, he would still be able to come to understand her. Likely she was already trying, considering how desperate she was to have Wellesley. He rolled his eyes, sighed and rolled over to face the wall, falling asleep soon after.

A movement in the trees told him it was time. "Mistress Shirayuki, please lie down now," Ilena whispered behind him and he heard Shirayuki shuffle on the straw. Just before they engaged, he had the sudden thought, _A person who feels powerless knows fear. A person who doesn't understand what their weapons are and how to use them is powerless. Do I feel the fear of being powerless regarding my brother because I don't understand what my weapons against him are and how to use them? Was that what she was trying to tell me? ...Is she trying to help me understand that she is my weapon?_ He had to leave the wonder of that thought for later. The ambushers were on the road ahead and beginning to move out onto the road behind them.

Obi slowed the wagon slightly as if he was confused or worried, and several of the mounted guards moved up ahead of him, using bluffing words as they went. "Hey, hey. Get off the road. Castle business coming through."

"No, we're here to…"

The guards cut them off. "Come on, come on, we don't have all day." "Got a deadline to meet."

Pfft!* Ilena had already understood what he'd told the guards to do and couldn't help the laugh. Obi smiled his predatory grin.

"Here, we're not lettin' you th…"

The first set of guards had their horses in the faces of the ambushers. "Come along, you, out of the way!"

Obi increased the speed of the wagon just a touch, the guards around him keeping pace. Then, there it was! *Snap* the reigns came down hard on the back of the wagon's horse and they shot forward. Ilena was right. The horses in front moved out of the way on their own accord.

"Hey! Come back 'ere!" came from beside, then behind them.

"Next time, get out of the way, like we ask you!" yelled the front guards, who were now the rear guards as they slapped the rumps of the horses of the men they'd moved out of the way, making them jump. This made the men on the horses have to pay attention to them instead of their escaping quarry, and tangled that group up enough that the rest of the band of thugs couldn't get through for over a minute.

Ilena couldn't help it. She began to laugh. "Ah hahaha! Ahh! Hahaha! Oh, Obi, that was wonderful! Haha hee hee."

He grinned to himself. It had turned out well. All he'd had to do was remind the men of their strengths and the weapon of intimidation, then outline the plan. They were all still quite aware that the men behind them would likely take up the chase and weapons might still be brought out, but they had the advantage now.

"What happened, Ilena?" Shirayuki asked confused.

Punctuated by giggles, Ilena told her a play by play. Obi was impressed. She'd 'seen' it with her ears. "Ah, Obi, if you've got a whistle or some such to call Zen with, he's close enough to hear. If he gets into view quickly, the one's catching up to us will quit the chase, I think." Ilena interrupted herself.

He smiled back at Shirayuki. "Want to give it a go?"

Shirayuki looked up at him startled, then smiled. "Okay." She got up onto her knees and leaned on the back of the seat Obi was sitting on, placing her hands on either side of her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she shouted, "ZEN! ZEN!"

"Count to five, then do it again," ordered Ilena.

...five. "ZEN! ...ZEN!"

"Repeat."

The count to five. "ZEN! ...ZEN!" and he rode into sight, his men following him, all of them galloping as hard as they could. Obi could see them taking in the situation, then splitting to go around their little group and head straight into the fray behind them. Obi slowed the horse slightly and turned to look behind them.

The ambushers were in disarray. The ones closest to them had broken off and turned to run the other way. Shirayuki's shout, though surely heard less clearly, had apparently alerted the patrol behind them. They were also running up to flank the other end. Within short order, the two patrols had surrounded the ambushers and were ordering their surrender.

As Obi turned back, Ilena caught his eye. "Well?" she asked.

Obi smiled at her. "The ambushers just got ambushed, from both sides. Looks like there won't be a battle. Zen will probably catch up after they've prepared the other side to go back with the garrison patrol."

"Ah, nope. He's too impatient." she answered him.

Obi looked back up over his shoulder. Sure enough, Zen was coming after them. He slowed the wagon horse down to a quick trot so Zen could catch up. "How do you do that?" he asked Ilena.

She smiled a secret smile. "Survival instinct. You understand, I'm sure, Obi."

He nodded. He did, but her ears were still very good. "Ah, is this why the rumors you're a mage?"

She shrugged. "One of the reasons, I suppose." Her smile didn't waver, and it looked like it might have taken on a predatory look to it to match his.

"Obi! Shirayuki!" Zen called as he caught up. They looked over at him and smiled. "Eh? Smiles?! From you too, Shirayuki? I thought you'd be in danger for sure when I heard you calling me."

"Well, Zen, I just decided that calling you before I was in danger was a better choice than after. It's what you've been trying to teach me, right?"

Zen had an amazed look on his face. "Ah. Yes, I guess I have, haven't I? Very good! It's certainly much better to see you two smiling when I get here than dark and worried." He smiled back at them, looking at Obi.

"Don't look at me. She did it," he pointed with his thumb to Ilena. "She's the one who explained it."

Zen rode up closer to the wagon to a place where he could look in and just see Ilena's eyes. They were sparkling with pride and excitement. "That was quite fun, Zen! Wasn't her use of her vocal weapon very timely, not to mention beautiful?" Zen nodded, trying to wrap his brain around "ambush" being equated with "fun". "But really, Obi's use of my lesson was the best. He had the guards bully our way through, then did as I suggested and ran the horse. You were in the right place at the right time, too, so it all came together just right! Ah! I love it when plans come together like this. They really make it all worth it, don't they?"

Zen couldn't help but smile. Yes, he'd felt that way before too. "Thank you, all of you, for staying safe."

"Oh, we're not safe yet," Ilena contradicted him. "We've just passed a hurdle. Safe isn't until we're in the castle."

"Ah, that's why Obi's not stopping?" Zen nodded his understanding.

Shirayuki nodded. "Ilena said we should also plan on there being another ambush on the way from here to the castle, though she said it wasn't too likely."

Zen smiled wider. "We took care of it on our way here. They were pretending to have a wheel off their cart, so we pretended to help - a small number of us anyway. The rest of us continued on, then circled around behind the ambushers in the brush. If it had been really a broken cart, we would have helped them and sent them on their way, but we did actually find more men in the brush, so we arrested them all. I'm a little short handed because we left some behind to take them back to the castle." He looked at Ilena again.

She smiled back up at him. "While I warned them it might happen, I didn't bother to plan. You're the better strategist, after all." He filed that comment away as another one of her clues that she knew more than she let on. "I'm surprised they thought they could get away with letting you see them before you passed them, instead of waiting to lose their wheel after you passed."

His smile turned predatory. "They lost the wheel before they anticipated they would. It made them nervous enough to give them away when we did pass."

"Ah, tough luck," Obi said unsympathetically. Ilena laughed again, then sighed happily, snuggling down a little further into her 'bed'.

Then she looked up at Shirayuki. "Mistress Shirayuki, do you want to ride with Zen?" She had no idea the shock that went through everyone's spines.

"Eh...ah...," Shirayuki hedged.

"Mistress Shirayuki," Ilena said warningly, "look at me." Shirayuki looked in Ilena's eyes nervously. "Are you going to choose protection, or strength?" her tone was one of impatience. Zen and Obi both shivered. They couldn't refuse or complain now, given how angry Shirayuki had been when they chose protection over strength for her.

"Strength," answered Shirayuki calmly. Then she turned to Obi. "Stop the wagon for a moment."

While Obi stopped the wagon, Zen took his horse over to the other side of the wagon so that Shirayuki could step from the wagon seat onto his horse's back. In order to help steady her, he had her sit in front of him, the way she and Mitsuhide had travelled together in the past, then they got going again. In the end, both of them were blushing pretty hard. Obi thought it was the most amusing thing he'd ever seen in quite some time. He looked over his shoulder at Ilena, who smiled up at him. "Did you do that to tease them on purpose?" he asked her.

"It was her reward," she answered simply, "but if it pleases you to see them teased, then yes." Ilena sighed. "Really, Obi. I've wondered for a long time why things aren't happening as they should between them. I'm beginning to learn it's because the lot of you keep preventing anything from happening, or perhaps it's a little less bad, and you're all just stumbling around in the dark. I'm afraid I'm going to be more difficult than Zen is thinking. Don't let me get too far off the mark too fast, eh?"

"You're going to be _more_ difficult?" His eyes narrowed. "What are you thinking?"

"How long before he gets pushed into a marriage he doesn't want, Obi?"

He turned to make sure the horse was pulling the cart in the right direction. "At most a year."

"Yes. There isn't much time, is there? We only have at most a half a year to turn her into the princess they want her to be. I can only hope that's enough time, but they'll have to work very, very hard." Then she muttered quietly, "And it will be even less time with me not at full capacity for many more weeks to come…*sigh*. Obi?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't let them let her get off his horse. Distract them until they're riding together into the castle grounds, okay?"

When Obi glanced back at her, she was sleeping again. Well, maybe this Ilena was alright. One thing was certain, she was going to liven up the castle. He sighed. It was going to be his job to make sure she didn't light it on fire.

Zen and Shirayuki had come up to the wagon again. "What was that sigh for?" Zen asked Obi.

Obi looked at them plaintively. "Are you sure it's me you want yoked with her?"

"Yes," they both said simultaneously. "Why?"

"She's likely to kill me off before I can properly get my brain wrapped around what to do with her."

"But, Obi," said Shirayuki, "you've already got the proper instincts."

"How's that?!" Obi was wondering if he should be offended, but he didn't really understand what she was talking about.

"You're both wild creatures, I think she's saying," Zen teased him. Obi was right, he was supposed to be offended.

"No," Shirayuki shook her head, disagreeing. "You already love her. That will lead you." Obi, and to some degree, Zen, stared at her, disbelieving. A sudden soft coughing fit from Ilena distracted them and allowed them to move on to other topics.

Obi spent a lot of time the rest of the trip thinking about protection versus strength, what his potential weapons against his brother were and how he might use them, Ilena as a shield for Zen and a weapon - or a shield - for him, and what it meant to be and to have a partner.

-o-o-o-

Zen couldn't decide if he was feeling pleasantly comfortable or unpleasantly warm. It seemed to keep switching between the two. He was most certainly feeling _happy_ , though he wasn't sure he was supposed to. The temerity of Miss Ilena. To not only suggest to Shirayuki she might ride with Zen, a thing he'd only gotten to do with her once or twice before, but to seal his and Obi's mouths shut in one go so they couldn't utter one protest.

If anything told him Miss Ilena was going to be hard to handle, it was that one act. There were, after all, reasons why he normally _didn't_ get to ride with Shirayuki, and they were equally valid. It felt like a whisper of warning. Kind of like Kiki's warning to let things unfold before making any decisions. Things weren't yet fully in play, and so he should remain wary as of yet. _All of a sudden I feel like Elder Brother Izana_. He considered that thought. _No, I feel like I'm sparring with Izana. Having to stay on my toes and remain alert for his, or in this case, her, every move and comment in order to understand how the board is being played_. But...she played it differently, Zen could see that. She taught while she played the game of test, strength, and manipulation. She didn't expect people to just pick it up or lose their advantage, like Izana did. But then, Izana didn't have time to be patient. Miss Ilena seemed to enjoy having others play well, like with her enjoyment that Obi and Shirayuki, and even he, had played their parts well just then. She was free with her rewards, as well - praising each of them openly. _Hmm..well we'll see further later, but, even though I don't enjoy being made to play the game, I like the way she plays better_.

Ah, but he was supposed to be the one testing her, and she seemed to always be in control of the board. Maybe that was okay, though. He played it by observing the movements of the others on the board to see what they did. When he understood it as a whole, then he made his moves. He'd learned to be patient already with the game. He could let her play it out, then make his decision the way he always did. It might actually be fun to watch her play, as long as he had a block ready for if she went too far.

"What are you thinking about, Zen?" asked Shirayuki.

"Mmm...Miss Ilena. And Obi's comments. And Kiki's. ...What have you learned about her now that you've had more time with her awake? Are you still okay with her next to Obi?"

"Yes. They did well together yesterday and today, in handling this trip. She was a great strength to me, too, helping me be strong for it. It was rough at the first, though, and that may not change for a while."

"What was wrong?"

"Obi's frustrated with being tied to her when he still doesn't understand her. He takes it out on her by teasing her. She just calmly shoots him down and that frustrates him more. I talked to her about it, though I couldn't help much, and she promised to try something else so that they don't fight so much. It was getting hard to be between them all the time. Today has been much calmer and nicer. I think it helps for Obi to see examples of who she really is inside. ...Of course, the part of her that is irritating is still who she really is, too, but I think it comes from not really knowing her place. And, I think she's a bit claustrophobic as well. There were times we would all be in the room together and she'd close her eyes and breathe carefully, as if to keep the walls from closing in.

"Ah, well, that may be difficult. I'm putting her in one of the rooms near the pharmacy so she can be close to you and Ryuu. I'd like you both to help watch her. I'm going to have to take Obi away frequently, but I'm not sure about most of the castle help yet. Until she gives her testimony in the Lord's Court, I don't want to risk her being discovered and silenced. I've had Kiki vet a nurse, though, who will help with taking care of her daily needs."

"Mmm… Okay. Yeah, those are small rooms. Well, if she doesn't have to be in there for very long, it might be okay. She doesn't complain. I think Ryuu will like her, too."

"Anything else?"

"Well...she's been busy as best she can. She's picked both my brain and Obi's brain for everything she can learn about the castle and its daily running and...well everything we could tell her. ...And then she memorized it all."

"Did she say why?" Zen hugged Shirayuki, then held her hand in his.

It took a moment before Shirayuki remembered Zen's question. "Ah, something about so she could be a good guest at your home since she hasn't been in a castle in a very long time and she didn't want to be impolite."

 _Hmm...so she's been in a castle before, but when she was too young to learn proper court etiquette? She seems pretty polite, though. Is it a deeper quest than that?_ "Well, she'll probably be just fine in that regard. It's good that she likes to keep herself busy." Zen squeezed Shirayuki's hand lightly.

"Yes, that impressed me, too." She gingerly squeezed his hand back.

"And what have you been doing to keep yourself busy? I know she surely didn't catch up to you in that." Zen smiled at the back of her head.

"Ah, haha. The usual. Studying herb books, talking with Obi and Ilena, and, as I said getting my brain picked, and having to step into their fights. It's been more lively than I thought at first. Being home will be nice, though. Ilena did complain about having to be more still than she's used to. I've been feeling the same. It will be good to be busy again."

"I'm jealous," Zen said. "I wonder when I'll get a vacation next?"

"Hmm…I think Ilena would tell you that you have to make your vacations. You are your own boss, after all."

"That's an interesting thought. I wonder if I can have the rest of the day off today?"

Shirayuki laughed, "What does your boss say?"

Zen smiled. "He says, you're getting it right now. Get back to work as soon as you're back at the castle."

"Ah," Shirayuki smiled. "I get to spend your vacation with you. That's nice."

Zen finally gave into the urge and buried his head in her hair and her shoulder. "Yes, it is. I'm glad I'm getting to spend it with you. Especially this way." They both blushed, but Zen didn't move just yet, just lightly brushed Shirayuki's hand with his thumb. "You know, I really wish we could spend more time like this together," he finally admitted to her. "I really have missed you." Shirayuki sat quietly for a while. He wondered if he'd made her mad again. Then he noticed that her grip on his hand had gotten tighter. He looked up and around into her face as best he could. She was fighting tears. He wrapped his arm around her, though he couldn't let go of the reins, and held her close. "I'm sorry, Shirayuki. I'm sorry I'm finding it so difficult to find the next step. I really wish I knew what to do."

She reached up and held on to his arm with her hand, the best she could do to give him a hug back, and shook her head. "I know you're trying your best. Something will come. We'll think of something." Then she dropped her head and smiled a little smile. "If worst comes to worst, I'll ask Ilena for help."

"Hmmm… I think I might want to find other options first. She'll fly away with it, I think."

"Well, yes…, but I think she would have our best interests at heart."

Zen couldn't disagree completely. "Probably she would think that. However, there are things she doesn't know, as she's even said."

"True," Shirayuki blushed again.

 _Probably thinking like me about the propriety of what we're doing right now… and how Miss Ilena unknowingly has turned it upside down. But we can't complain…mostly because we don't want to._

Somehow the remainder of the trip turned out to be very short.

-o-o-o-

Their arrival at Castle Wilant was uneventful. Ilena was asleep when they moved her to her bed, which was probably for the best since it had been a harder trip for her than she'd thought it would be. But when she woke up, she was sad she'd missed her last bit of blue sky and open space for a while, especially when she perceived the room seemed just as small as the one she'd left. It was fairly dark in the room, and they'd been scheduled to arrive in the mid evening. Maybe it was dinner time? Or had she slept through it and it was night now?

She listened closely to the strange sounds of a new place. Still two guards on the door. _She_ wasn't going anywhere. Zen must have a distrust of a few people in the castle still. She hoped she could fix that for him, to some degree, but that would depend on if he would end up trusting her or not. She sighed. Sometimes, particularly when she got lonely or claustrophobic, it was hard to be patient. For now, as long as she fed them the information a little at a time, and as long as she remained a cooperative witness under protective custody, it was a positive symbiotic relationship. That was much better than the negative leech-like relationship she'd been in before, but this was, so far, more restrictive. The fault of the wound of course - there was nothing to be done about that. The fact she still had her life was a great blessing. She could hold on to that as a ray of hope that things might still turn out okay...even though it went against all the training she'd had up until now.

She couldn't help it. The tears slipped out without her permission. It was quiet here, wherever here was. At least at this time of night. If she was being guarded, it was likely it would stay fairly quiet. It was doubtful Zen wanted many people to know she was here yet. Damn the tears. They wouldn't quit. _Must be from having years of practice at being let out at night. Well, nothing for it then, but to fall asleep again._ _Wonder when I'll get to have a bath again. I miss being really clean. *drip* Haa. Need to stop. Just sleep. Life will happen again tomorrow. …I'm just tired of being lonely. Probably more tonight because today was the first time I've laughed since...well...forever. Like... the last time I was in a castle in Clarines. Ah, now why'd I have to go and remember that!? Now the tears really won't…_.

The door opened before she could get control of her sobs. Someone entered quietly, then gathered her head in their arms and let her cry. It was an odd thing to be both depressed and crying, _and_ also be very surprised at the same time.

"Wh-who?" she finally managed to say once the sobs stopped and the tears slowed down.

"Ah!" the person jumped a little, then quickly, but carefully, let go. She grabbed a sleeve before he could disappear from her range.

"Please, don't go...just yet." He stopped moving and let her hang on. "Thank you. That was exactly what I needed."

"I...I thought it might be…. It's what someone did for me, the first time I was away from my family and at the castle."

"Oh? That was a very nice gift that person gave you, to be able to give it to me. I thank that person too."

She felt this kind stranger smile. It seemed a shy kind of smile, just like his words. She guessed he was a young man. He'd seemed rather short, though not too short, when he'd been hugging her.

"Ah...I'm Ilena, and I was just feeling very lonely. May I know your name, so I won't feel quite as lonely?"

Again a shy smile? This time he moved his arm she had hold of. He took her hand and set it on the bed, then kept his hand lightly on hers, like a kindly physician might. "I'm Ryuu, Head Court Pharmacist at Castle Wilant. Prince Zen asked me to take the second watch over you. Shirayuki has first watch, and Mister Obi will come for third watch. ...I thought I would work outside so I wouldn't be a bother while you were sleeping. ...They, Obi and Shirayuki, told me that you might be lonely tonight, so...I was…."

She flipped her hand over and grasped his briefly before opening it to allow him to escape if he wished to. "Thank you for thinking of me, Head Court Pharmacist Ryuu. I truly appreciate it, though I admit to some surprise that Obi and Mistress Shirayuki would think to say such a thing. That makes me feel somewhat better also." _Ah, good, he didn't move his hand. I guessed right_.

"Ah...Is there...anything you need?" he asked. _He's trying so hard. He's come a long way, but this is still a flustering situation to be in, isn't it?_

"I guess I am thirsty and a little hungry. I take it I've missed dinner."

"Yes," his voice was professional now, though young, "but food was brought for you. ...Ah, I'm sorry, I've already eaten mine."

"That's alright. If you'd like to join me again, I'm sure there is more brought than I can eat myself. They usually do that, after all." She put a smile into her voice.

"Ah, well, maybe I could just a little, to keep you company."

"Well, but this is an embarrassing situation for me to be meeting you in, Mister Ryuu," she admitted to him.

"Why?" he sounded genuinely surprised. He had moved, maybe towards a desk and candle.

The light flickered to life as she answered, the sparkling light dancing in her smiling eyes, "Because I respect your work and your research. I've read several of your treatises, though my favorites are your untranslated works."

He stared at her in amazement. "My...my _untranslated_ works?"

"Yes. The ones you wrote at your parent's home. I take it you felt they weren't worthy of publication because they were rough? Though I found them extremely useful for my own work."

"You...you've used them?"

"Yes. In particular I needed the one on salysilic phosphoresis, but I found the others nearly as useful."

"You're a researcher?"

"Ah, I assisted a researcher, specifically a surgery researcher, and dabbled in practical applications of herbs, drugs, and medicines since he was a little thin in that area."

"..." Ryuu blinked several times. trying to process it all. "How did you read them? And, how did you get a hold of them?"

She smiled, hoping she wouldn't scare him off with the answers to those questions. "I understand multiple languages. It took a bit of effort the first paper to understand the more technical terms, though you weren't quite sophisticated enough yet to completely lose me at the time you wrote them. I might have to be coached to read your current untranslated works, though as I said I prefer to read them that way. It's easier to follow the flow of the progression of your thoughts."

"Yes, I think so too," he said faintly.

She laughed lightly. "I should think so, Mister Ryuu."

He blinked, then smiled as he realized his joke. "Ah, just Ryuu is fine."

"Is it?" When he nodded, she acquiesced. "Okay, then Ryuu."

He blushed slightly. "You are a lot like Obi," he said.

Ilena's mouth went into an 'O', and she blinked. "I am?"

He blushed a little more and turned towards the door again to fetch Ilena's meal. "You're easy to talk to." She smiled at his back. He was fun to talk to.

Ilena was actually surprised that Ryuu had been assigned to watch over her. He was a busy young man, being the youngest genius pharmacist in the history of Clarines, and the youngest to ever be made a Head Court Pharmacist. He'd been trained at the main castle after being scouted by the Head Pharmacist there. It must have been her who'd comforted him that first night there. He'd been a Court Pharmacist by the time he was eleven, or was it nine? He'd been given this position just around a year ago by King Izana after his research with Shirayuki on the plant that glowed in the snow of Wilant, _Olin Maris_. That was still her project and why she'd been out of the castle when she'd rescued Ilana.

He was very shy, but his time at Lyrias, two years, if Ilena remembered correctly, had certainly helped him open up enough to talk to patients better, though he was probably even more open with other researchers. His lack of height, that made him seem even younger than he was, had somewhat to do with that. When the light had been lit, she could tell that he was definitely taller than when she'd seen him last. Well, he would never be very tall, sadly, but any height he gained was a triumph, she was sure. What was he now, in his middle upper teens? He probably had four more years of good growth, or so, to go - now that it had started.

He returned with a small cart of food, mostly the easy to digest things she'd been eating at the garrison for several weeks now. She sighed at it. Ryuu looked worried. "Ah!" she said before he could get any more worried, "I'm sorry. It isn't your fault. It's just, I'm already at four weeks of healing and it would be nice to be graduating to some real foods sometime soon."

Ryuu shook his head. "It isn't that you couldn't eat them, it's that you can't sit up to eat them. The concern is that you'll accidentally choke on the foods that take more chewing. In two weeks, when you can sit up, then you can have them."

Ilena sighed. "You wouldn't happen to have a tincture or a poultice that would make two weeks go by in, say, three hours, would you?"

Ryuu looked at her seriously for a moment, then stopped, looked at her again, and smiled. "You are like Obi. You like to tease, also."

"Well...I wouldn't say I was teasing so much as having fun while complaining, though. I know you have no such thing, after all." She let him feed her her first bite of food, chewed it obediently thoroughly, then swallowed carefully, looking at him all the while very carefully. He had indeed watched her do it, and with some small concern. When he looked up at her with the next spoonful ready, she smiled at him. " _That_ was teasing, Ryuu."

"What?" his eyes opened wide and she smiled wider.

"Look at the food, Ryuu. Does it really require that much of my attention to all the detailed parts of eating it?"

He looked at the fairly thin porridge, and shook his head.

"Come, now. I'm not teasing you now." He lifted his head, surprised. "I'm explaining what it was that I did that was teasing, so that you might understand the difference... though it's perhaps very indistinct... hmmm... well, regardless,..." he stuck the spoon in her mouth, then laughed a giggle at her surprised expression. She smiled back after swallowing the mouthful. "Touche'. You win. I will admit you already understand teasing, based on the solid evidence presented to me just now."

He smiled back. "You sound a lot like a professor, even before now."

"Well, yes I guess I often do. Though I don't know why. Somehow the lecture format is comfortable for me." She ate the next bite while thinking about it. "Maybe it's because I've had to teach so many people so many things over the years, even from the time I was very young."

"What do you do?" he asked as he offered her the next bite.

"Mmm…right now, I'm bored out of my mind while the hip heals. I'm still waiting for Prince Zen to decide what I'm going to do next." He waited. She could tell he wanted the rest of the answer but couldn't decide how to ask for it. Gently, she asked him, "Ryuu, how much have you been told about me?"

"Umm...not very much yet, I guess." Well, that was it, then, wasn't it.

"Ryuu, I think they're trying to protect you, is that how you see it?"

"Well, I guess they might be thinking that. I was just thinking they were just not telling me things again."

"Hmm...I noticed they do that to Mistress Shirayuki, too. It seems to be that they just don't think of it?" He nodded. He didn't seem too offended, but he did seem sad. "Well, give me another bite or two and I'll think about what I might be allowed to say." He obliged and she thought. After a few bites, she asked him, "Ryuu, have you ever thought to ask? When they start talking about something you don't have the background to understand, or the early pieces to fit into the picture, do you ask for them?"

He continued to feed her while he thought about it. "I guess I don't, not usually. I just wait to see if they'll tell me...but they usually don't."

Ilena nodded. "Well, then, you could solve a lot of it by yourself, just by remembering you're an investigator."

"Investigator?"

"Yes. Researchers have a question, then go and look to see if anyone else has answered the question, and if not, they probe, experiment, etc., until they have the answer to the question. Investigator is the same, but it is the first part. What is already known and who knows it? What is the current known big picture to the question you have? Because you're a researcher, you're already an investigator."

"Ohhh," he spent time mulling that over, absently continuing to feed her.

When he seemed to come back, she continued. "If you don't ask the questions, do you get any answers?" He shook his head. "If you want people to become used to doing something what do you have to do?"

"Train them," he answered promptly.

"Exactly. If you want the people around you to become used to telling you things, you need to train them to tell you those things."

"...by asking them questions?"

Ilena nodded. "The more they get used to answering your questions, the more they'll begin to anticipate your questions and answer them before you ask them. If they answer the wrong one, you can ask the correct one and still get the answer you need. Eventually, they'll just naturally include you, or in other words, naturally supply you with the missing data without you having to ask for it. ...Of course it may take a year or two, humans don't learn all that fast after all, but consistent effort always bears out." She eyed him a moment as he digested what she'd said. Then she casually said, "You could even practice on your patients. They are who you already ask investigative questions to, right?"

Ryuu nodded. "To find out what the problem is and how it was caused so we can find the appropriate solution."

"Right. But you could practice asking for more prior information. Why did they do what they did that caused the problem? How did they feel about that? Sometimes the answers to these kinds of questions can help you understand a deeper problem that needs to be addressed. Like...if a person keeps stubbing their toe. Is it because they can't see? Or do they need new shoes? Is it really because they keep getting angry and kicking the chair, forgetting that it hurts every time, and so they need to learn to manage their anger, or maybe need proper training to remember that kicking a chair hurts every time? Or…" She stopped. She'd managed to get him giggling again.

"I understand," he said when he recovered. "If I want to know about you, first I need to ask Prince Zen, or maybe Shirayuki or Obi, so I know what they're willing to let me know. Then you will know what you can talk about because I can talk about it first."

"Yeah, you are a genius," she smiled at him, "but also, it's so you don't feel lonely and left out. If I tell you any old thing, whether I should or not, it isn't going to help your relationships, is it?"

He stopped. Then he put the spoon down in the bowl, and lowered the bowl to his lap. "It helps relationships?" he asked wonderingly.

 _Ah, he's so lonely. It's sad_. "Yes, Ryuu. Do you know why?" Finally he shook his head. "Because relationships are built on communication. If we don't talk with one another, we can't know who the other person is, their dreams, desires, dislikes, likes, their personality. It can be scary to tell those things to another person, and it can sometimes be scary to hear them from another person. But if relationships are better than loneliness, then the scary is easier to bear. Especially if you can remember that the other person participating in the conversation is just as lonely, scared, and hopeful as you are." His eyes looked up into hers, wide, and she nodded. "Yes, I am. Remember what I was like when you first entered the room." He did and nodded. "In order to ease my loneliness, and fear, I used the hope to talk to you, to try to bridge them by communicating with you."

She smiled at him. "If it's easy to talk to me, or to Obi, it's because you are a person who is easy to talk to." He looked to be in denial. "It's true, Ryuu. It's just you who needs to believe it. If you can believe it, it will become true for you. Please, let me urge you again, practice it with your patients. Treat it as an experiment - the 'Ryuu is easy to talk to' experiment. All you have to do is ask questions and listen and when it's right, take the chance to talk about yourself, to let them know about who you are, too. ...And, with your friends, always remember you're an investigator first. They know it. You won't offend them."

Obi leaned back in his chair and tilted his head at her, looking at her with his usual very serious expression. "You're a very good teacher. ...Shirayuki was right. She said you were very nice and that I would like you."

"Thank you, Ryuu. You are also very nice, and I like you, too." His eyes got big. "But, Ryuu…" she tried very hard to be gentle, "that like and the like you are looking for are two different things." He turned very red. "Please, consider me a friend only. One thing I can tell you is that Zen won't give me to you, I'm sorry. It's the same as he won't give you Shirayuki." She could see the pain in his eyes. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Ryuu. This is part of the pain of communication and understanding each other's dreams and desires. Please don't run from it. ...You don't run from Shirayuki. It's the same."

He took a breath and nodded. "But still...it is, as you say...something I'm finding I'm looking for...it's becoming a distraction."

Ilena smiled. "That's to be expected. For all you're a genius researcher, you're also a male of the human species. ...May I be of further service to you in this area?"

His eyes lit up, "You can be?"

"Yes, somewhat. You'll have to do the work of communicating by yourself, of course, but I suspect you're looking for someone specific. Like someone who is a researcher or understands researchers; someone who is easy to talk to, preferably; ..obviously a female..." She smiled as he blushed again.

"You're teasing again."

"Very good, you've passed your exam," she winked at him and he smiled shyly back. "Have you taken the opportunity to leave this place and go into town yet?" He shook his head. "That's the first step. You're limited here by who comes to see you, though you could choose to spend some time just wandering around the castle and see who you run into. That's often very educational and sometimes productive. But for you, I suggest in the main, that you become a regular at The Scholars Tavern. Obi can take you there the first time or two since I'm sure he already knows where every tavern and bar are." Ryuu nodded in agreement. "The owners are friends of mine. They have specifically set it up for researchers and scholars to go to for a quiet environment in which to rest their minds, to give them a different environment in which to get a different perspective. It is also a place where different kinds of researchers can synergistically come to solutions to problems that one is having difficulty with."

"Like Lyrias?" he perked up.

"Like Lyrias," she nodded. "The owners are originally from Lyrias and wanted to provide a place here that would provide that same kind of atmosphere for the Lyrias transplants, though of course others have found their way there as well. If you can go regularly, I believe you may be provided with opportunities to meet others who can help you widen your circle of acquaintances. When it's wide enough, the woman you are destined to meet will enter that circle and you'll be able to finally find what it is you're looking for. Though don't hate me if she comes through some other means. It's just a better opportunity than staying here in your offices will provide."

Ryuu nodded. "Thank you, Ilena."

"You're very welcome, Ryuu. I wish you the most happiness. ...Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd love a drink of water."


	7. The First Set of Witnesses

**CHAPTER 7 The First Set of Witnesses**

Shortly after getting food and water, and a nice visit by a new friend, Ilena felt much better and started to drift into sleep. She apologized, and Ryuu left to continue his work outside the room. She was awakened by Obi coming in later. "Obi?"

"Yes." he sounded tired but content. That was good.

"I met Ryuu. He's very nice."

"Yes he is. He said the same about you."

"I'm glad. It was hard to not scare him."

Obi laughed a bit, "I know, right? It must have been particularly hard for you."

"Um-hm. I did have to work hard."

He gave a rather thunderstruck pause, then walked over and touched her forehead for a temperature reading. "Are you feeling ok?"

"I am now," she sighed.

"What?" he was confused for a moment, then he jerked his hand away. "Are you teasing _me_ now?"

"No. I'm not."

"Okay, what's going on, Miss Ilena?" She was sure he'd put his hands on his hips, but in the dark she wasn't sure.

"I'm lonely. I missed you. Though Ryuu was kind to comfort me and keep me company."

He was silent, then he moved to the other side of the room and leaned against the wall, which really wasn't all that far away. They could probably reach their arms out and just barely be able to interlock their fingers. "Yeah. He said that, too. ...I'll be here until after breakfast, but I won't be able to be here every night. Those nights Master will have a night nurse here for you."

 _Kindness? Amazing._ "I'm glad you're here tonight. I'll try not to miss you too much the nights you're gone." He snorted. Because they hadn't been having a very good relationship until now, it was likely hard for him to believe she'd really miss him all that much. "And I guess you'll be gone after tonight for a while."

"Why's that?" He was sharp as always whenever she made educated guesses or leaked information he thought she shouldn't have.

"I owe Zen the first list. He'll probably be sending you off right away to collect them, won't he?"

"...Yeah, probably." He didn't sound thrilled by the idea.

"You'd rather stay and babysit me?"

"No, not really. I'm ready to be let out to run some."

"...It's that, isn't it?"

He didn't answer.

"Obi…"

"I don't want to hear it. I'll do what I'm ordered to do by Master. It's enough."

"...very well," but she was very sad about it. "...do you remember what to say?"

"Mother has sent me for you."

"Good. ...be gentle with them. They're willing to help, but most are very afraid."

"...I will be," he said it very gently.

"Thank you, Obi." She was fading again. "Good night."

"...good night."

The next morning Obi woke Ilena up for breakfast. She wasn't quite ready for it. Even with Obi there, she hadn't slept well. "I'm sorry to not be able to let you sleep in this morning, but the only time Master has to come visit is on his way to his office this morning."

"Eh? Okay." She rubbed her eyes, then stretched as much as she could. It was getting very hard to stay in this one position all the time and she could feel every muscle atrophy daily. Maybe today would be the day she started to work on muscle strength and tone, even if it had to be from this position. If she didn't do something she was going to start getting testy with people, and that wouldn't be a good thing just yet.

"You doing okay?" he asked as she wiggled and writhed.

"Ah, just laugh," she said tiredly, "it might make me feel better. Can I get you to take my muscles along with you? They've turned into jelly, almost. It's embarrassing, this place I'm forced into, really. A good soaking bath is really the thing I'm most looking forward to, though. ...Ah, don't say it! It's bad enough I'm thinking it." She wrinkled her nose at herself to prove the point.

Obi had to turn away to not let her see his smile. He really did want to laugh.

"I said to, didn't I?" she answered his unspoken thought.

"Ah," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm sure it won't help you feel better. But here, breakfast might. They've added oranges today."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Finally some flavor! Can that come first and last then? And everywhere in between?" She opened her mouth for the first one. Then closed it at his look. She held her hand up. "Give it here. I can feed that to myself."

"No, really, I can help," he said with a smile he couldn't keep down.

"No, really. I don't need that kind of help," she refused. He relented and handed her the orange piece. It had been cut cross grain so it was a thin circle, easy to suck on and get just a little meat from. "Ah, that is wonderful. I wonder if Ryuu lodged my complaint from last night."

"Did you complain?" Obi was somewhat surprised.

"Yeah. I finally asked for real food. He told me I couldn't because they don't want me to choke on hard-to-chew foods. Maybe he decided other things could be done."

"Why did you complain to Ryuu and not us?"

Ilena assumed by "us" he meant Shirayuki and Obi. "It broke the ice, one does not complain to one's mistress, and complaining to you wouldn't get me anywhere."

"Hey, that hurts."

She stopped and looked at him, with her piercing, 'was that a lie?' look. He was surprised she used it. "Sorry." It was perfunctory but sincere and she went back to her orange.

He sighed. "You're still weird this morning, too."

She raised her eyebrow but continued to focus on her orange. She could just manage to eat it herself. The biggest problem, of course, was that she either had to eat without lifting her head at all, or just ever so slightly. That meant that food had a tendency to just fall down to the back of her throat if she wasn't very careful. If someone else lifted her head, it worked better. If it required a utensil, she couldn't manage at all. The angles were just all wrong.

She'd been pondering his comment, though. "I think...I'm just cross. Next comes testy. Then somewhere along the line, I give up and start throwing tantrums. ...It's actually amazing I can remember that. It's been so forever ago I've been in a place I could do all that. Being locked up in a small room for so long doesn't leave me much else to do but fall back into that, I suppose."

"That's some serious self-analysis, there."

She jumped and stared at him. Somehow he'd ended up at her elbow without her knowing, and his voice had been louder than she had anticipated. "H-how did you do that?"

"Do what?" he was confused. "I just walked over here."

Ha*...*hah*...it was hard to get her heart to stop beating so fast. "Just a minute…." she closed her eyes. Behind her eyelids, she could see a young man. _It was like that, wasn't it?_ She really was reverting.

Obi's hand was on her forehead again, and when she opened her eyes, he was frowning, but he didn't say anything about it. "Would you like some porridge? It looks like they seasoned it with cinnamon, another concession to real food, I suppose?"

"Okay," she said meekly.

He looked at her blandly, then started feeding her, keeping his comments to himself.

-o-o-o-

Zen arrived shortly after they'd cleaned up breakfast and cleaned up Ilena. It was a shared job by Shirayuki and Obi since they had to carefully roll her a few times to get everything taken care of. They were quite experienced at it now, so it didn't take as long as it used to.

Zen and Shirayuki happily greeted each other, and Shirayuki just as happily greeted Mitsuhide and Kiki. Zen had brought them along to introduce them officially to Ilena, since they hadn't been able to the day before. Ilena cordially welcomed them, but didn't really know what to say to them, though she watched the interplay between them and Shirayuki closely. They were formal retainers that morning and took up quiet positions in the background. She watched them until they settled, then she looked at Zen. He couldn't help it. She looked just like a falcon that had just had it's hood removed and was trying to figure out it's surroundings. He paused, thinking about where to start.

Ilena spoke first, calmly. "Regent Zen, I have your word they'll be kept in a safe location until after their enemies are no longer a threat to them? That they'll be treated kindly and well? That they won't be incorrectly assumed to be enemies of yourself or the country in the way they are handled and questioned? That if they have immediate family members, they will also be taken along and be protected and treated the same?"

Zen nodded. "You have my word."

"Obi, please prepare to write."

They all waited until he was ready. Then, still just as calmly, she listed off ten names with their locations, listing them at the pace she could hear Obi writing.

"Obi, if you'll ask after them by name, you'll find them. If anyone asks you why you seek them or what evidence you give that you have a right to find them, that one is an enemy. Speak no further to that one. Remember that your face is your key. You need no other proof. Only give the keywords to the one who says to you, when you ask them if they are that person, 'I am waiting to hear the words of Father.' ...Repeat to me these instructions."

Obi stood and carefully said, "I am to seek after them by name in the locations given. My face is sufficient to be directed to them. If anyone asks me for proof or a reason, that person who asks is an enemy to be avoided. When I'm in front of the person who is said to be the one I'm looking for, I'm to ask if that's who they are. If they are, they'll answer, "I'm waiting to hear the words of Father'. Then I'm to respond, 'Mother has sent me for you'."

"That's correct. To aid you further, there's one more thing I can tell you, if you wish it." She hadn't taken her eyes off Zen this whole time. He instinctively understood that she was going to ask for payment if the aid was accepted. He held up his hand.

"Is what you've already said sufficient to the task?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not necessary at this time."

"Very well." She was neither pleased nor displeased with the decision.

"Is there anything else at this time?" Zen asked Ilena.

She paused. "...Yes. May I make an unreasonable request?"

Zen thought about that. Did that mean it was a request that she wouldn't be able to pay for? "I'll hear it." He was careful to promise nothing but that.

She blinked. "If an elderly man asks at a lesser gate to speak to 'the Missus', may he be allowed in to speak with me?"

Zen agreed with her. At this point it was unreasonable. That seemed unlike her...which meant it was very important to her. "I'll consider it."

"Thank you."

Zen thanked her for the list, then excused himself, taking everyone with him except Shirayuki, who was now on duty with Ilena.

-o-o-o-

Obi was quite busy the following five days. He had a lot of people to collect. At least most of them were centrally located in Wilant, and thankfully, four were actually in the town there by the castle. He decided to work from the farthest reaches back in towards the castle. He arrived first at a baronial manor halfway between the Earldom in question and Lyrias. He figured the person he wanted wasn't going to be very high in the order of things, so he knocked on the kitchen door. The cook shouldn't be too surprised to see a messenger.

"Hello," he said in a friendly voice. "I'm looking for Peter of Fentriss. Can you please direct me?"

The cook, a thin man who looked rather ragged today, looked at him sourly, then called over his shoulder, "Hey, boy! Someone to see you!" The cook looked back at Obi. "Don't keep him long. He's not yet finished chopping the onions. He keeps crying so hard he can't see to cut them."

Obi blinked. That was rather easy, quick, and fortuitous. It made him suspicious. The cook left to go back to his pots and a thinner boy, who looked like he hadn't eaten well in several years, took his place. When he saw Obi, he froze, then more tears started trickling down his face. Obi gently asked, "Peter of Fentress?"

He started, wiped his eyes, muttering, "Onions…", then he said, "Ah..umm. I'm waiting to hear the words from my Father."

Obi figured it was close enough. "Mother has sent me for you."

Peter shifted his feet. "Ah, um...he..he'll get mad, the cook, but, can I come now?"

Obi tilted his head. "I can't give you an excuse. Can you think of one that would get you out right now?"

Peter thought about it, then turned around and called to the cook, "Cook, he says my Grandpa's asking for me. Can I go?"

"Is it that urgent?"

"He sent someone, didn't he?"

"Fine, fine. Stupid old fart, just needs to kick off already." The last was more muttered, as if the cook had stuck his head into a cupboard while saying it.

Peter turned back to Obi, "I'll wash up at the pump on the way out," and he shyly led the way.

When he was done washing, he turned to look at Obi expectantly. Obi looked at him for a moment, then asked, "Do you have anything to collect?" Peter shook his head. "Alright, then. Can you ride?" Peter shook his head again. "Can you hold on?" This time Peter nodded. "Then let's go." He led Peter to his horse and boosted him on, then climbed up in front of him. Looking over his shoulder, he warned, "This will be an uncomfortable day and night for you. Eventually we'll have enough...Children to get a wagon."

Peter nodded. "It's okay. ...Am I the first?"

Obi smiled as he got the horse going. "Yes, so I'm quite new at this. I feel fortunate that my first was so easy to find. It would be nice if the rest could be the same. Master wouldn't pay...Mother's price to let me know how to make it easy to find anyone. I only know I have to ask around everywhere I go."

Peter was quiet for a while, trying to find his balance. Obi had decided to go at a fast canter. He wanted to move fairly fast, and since the boy didn't know how to ride anyway, he may as well learn to keep his seat at a pace Obi wanted to go. Though he was sorry to make it a little more difficult. After a while, Peter did figure out how to ride with the horse instead of fight against the motion. Then he was finally able to relax a bit. Obi wondered if he'd answer questions.

"Do you know any of the other Children? Ah, and not just the ones I'm collecting now, just any others?"

Peter shook his head. "I've only been at the Barony. Mother put me there about five years ago, after she saved me from my first house. I've been doing what she said to do, and waiting for you, ever since."

"You've only met Mother once?" Obi was very surprised.

"Yes," Peter's voice was soft and worshipful.

"You're a very loyal son," Obi praised him.

The arms around him tightened and he could feel Peter's body begin to shake. Obi quietly respected Peter's tears. After some time, Peter started talking.

"It was when I was twelve. I'd been sent out to the fields and told not to come back until I'd filled the basket with potatoes. I'm pretty slow for working, and it had already gotten dark, but it wasn't full yet. I was getting hungry so I was even slower, when I noticed a glow coming from the main house. I stood up to get a better look and it was burning, the whole of it. Ma was there, down sick, and my little sister was taking care of her. All I could think about was them. I ran towards the house when all of a sudden someone popped up in front of me and grabbed me, holding my head so I couldn't see. I called and called for Ma and my sister, but she didn't let go. She put her mouth down to my ear and said, 'They're already dead. They all are. You're all that's left. You need to be quiet now, or you will be, too, and I don't want that. I need you to live.' I stopped yelling, but I couldn't stop crying."

"She just held me for a while, then she said, 'I'm going to take you away from here to another place. It might not be as nice as here, but it won't be as bad as my place. Until we get there, you only talk when talked to. Answer any question asked of you, briefly and honestly. Do what you're told. When they ask you where you came from, you say, 'The Missus found me', and nothing but that. Can you do that?' I nodded and she let me go. When I could finally look up at her, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, glowing in the gold light of the fire." Obi guessed the boy's memory had modified that some since that time.

"She told me to never forget what had happened that night, and if I could, to never forget anything that the houses had done for the last couple of years before that, especially anything the masters had ordered done. When she brought me to the Barony, she said the same - to pay attention and never forget the evil deeds that men can do. She told me, 'But don't you do any of it. You keep doing the best you can to be the son your mother would be proud of.' I asked her if I'd ever see her again. She smiled at me and said, "Most likely some day, but it may be years.' Then she told me that now she'd adopted me, I was part of a big family, and she told me how to recognize another family member, saying I might get a visit every now and then from them. ...The last one came by a half a year ago and taught me how to recognize you and what to say." Peter started shaking again. "I'm glad you came today...I was cutting those onions and thinking of using the knife on me instead, almost wishing Mother'd let me die with my Ma and my sister."

"Well, that wouldn't do, for such a faithful son to give up. Especially right when he's needed most."

"Needed? Most?" It sounded like Peter believed he wasn't needed by anyone.

Obi nodded. "Do you know why Mother sent me?" Peter shook his head. "It's time to avenge the deaths of your Ma and sister, and to talk about all the evil doings of men that she told you to remember." He looked back over his shoulder at Peter to see his surprised reaction. "I'm taking you to a safe place with others of Mother's Children. There, you will get to visit with those of your adopted family who we're collecting. And you'll be fed, though you'll have to help with the house chores." Peter definitely liked the word food and was already used to helping with chores. "In exchange, there will be some people come who'll ask you to talk about those things you saw, heard, and can remember. Answer their questions honestly, okay?"

"Okay. That's easy enough. ...Will Mother come? I really want to see her again." Peter dropped his head.

Obi was quiet for a while. "I think she would really like to, but she can't right now. She's also being protected, but at a different location. It may be that there will be an opportunity in a few months. ...But I know she's still very concerned about your welfare and thinks of you."

Peter nodded his head. Obi could feel it moving against his back. Then he was quiet for a long time.

-o-o-o-

It was late at night when they arrived at the next destination. It looked like a hunting lodge for a noble lord, though the main building looked quiet and dark. Obi figured that was probably a good thing. He dismounted, then helped Peter down. Even though they'd had a couple of stops, it was still very difficult for Peter to walk for a few moments. Obi's horse snorted and shook it's bridle. Carrying two at a fast pace for most of the day had worn it out and it wanted a good rest in the stable. Obi stroked its nose and spoke to quiet it, loosely tying it to the outside pin of the small stable.

"Oh! I say!" Peter said in surprise. Obi looked over at him. Peter was looking down at a young child that had attached itself to his leg. Himself, upon closer inspection.

Obi squatted down to be closer to eye level with the child and asked after the next person on the list. The child looked over at one of the smaller outbuildings. "Well, then, let's go see shall we? That's Peter you have hold of, by the way."

The child looked up at Peter and said, "Bro."

Obi smiled. "Works for me. How about you, Peter?"

Peter smiled shyly at the child and nodded. Then he detached the child from his leg and took his hand. "Do you have a name?" he asked the small boy as they walked towards the servants quarters. The little boy shook his head. Peter looked worried.

Obi smiled, "It's okay Peter, he's got one. He's just a bit young, is all."

Just as they reached the house, a young woman came running around it from the side of the house and nearly ran into them. Obi grabbed her elbow before she could topple over. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she gasped. "Ah! Thom! Where have you been?"

The lad pointed at Obi's horse and said, "Horse." Then he pointed at Peter and said, "Bro."

"Come here at once!" She reached for him and he scuttled behind Peter.

"It's okay, Miss," Peter said shyly. "I don't mind."

"Ah...Oh, I'm so sorry." She bowed. "What may I do for you gentlemen tonight? We don't often get visitors here."

"Well, I was hoping we might be able to beg to stay the night tonight. It's gotten late and my horse is rather tired," Obi requested. "Anything is fine. We aren't fancy people, just travelers. The young woman looked unsure, but she also didn't want to refuse when it would obviously be difficult for them. "If it's too much trouble, we can just go on down the road a bit," Obi said, "Though if I could water my horse before we go…."

The child, Thom, all of a sudden let go of Peter's hand and went running off, "Da!"

The young woman sighed. "Well, if he's back, it'll probably be okay if you stay."

Thom came back pulling a large man after him, babbling about the "horse" and "Bro".

"Whoa, whoa!" The man laughed, then scooped up the small boy. "You're all excited tonight, Mister Thom. We have guests do we?"

The man walked up to the house, smiling and tickling the boy until he giggled so much he couldn't breathe. The small light from the house window wasn't really enough to make out detailed features on any of them, but the man was quite large and his teeth shone frequently from his smile.

"Foster, these gentlemen have asked if they might stay the night and stable their horse," the young woman said.

Foster wrapped his arm around the woman and kissed the top of her head, then turned to them, "You're welcome to stay. You can have the floor in front of the fire, if you'd like to be warm. If you'd rather be comfortable, you can have the hayloft. I'm sorry that's all I can offer, besides a bit to eat."

Peter shivered. "I'm used to the floor, if that's alright." With his skin and bone, it looked like he didn't stay warm on his own well.

"If you don't mind, I'll take the hayloft," Obi said. He was still feeling closed in from all the babysitting of Ilena. "Do you mind if I take care of my horse first?"

"Let me fetch a lantern and I'll help you," Foster said. He turned towards the house and opened the door, allowing more light to spill out. The young woman gasped. She was staring at Obi.

Obi winked at her, held his finger up to his mouth, and turned away from the light to head towards the stable.

He heard her hiss at Peter as he walked away, "Is that...?" He knew Peter was probably nodding, but he hoped he'd seen the warning to keep it quiet for now. He'd wait until they were settled in the house.

He had the saddle off his horse, Fenrier, by the time Foster made it out with the lantern. Obi was careful to move so that the light never fell fully on his face, but he'd had to do that before, so it was almost second nature anyway. Foster made a pail of grain for the horse and told Obi where the pitchfork was so he could give the horse some hay while the forester fetched water. When the horse was watered and fed, they walked companionably to the house. Foster told him that he was the caretaker for the hunting grounds and the young woman was his wife, Sallie. Thom was their son. For some reason he'd seemed sad when he said that, though.

Foster headed through the door first and went to put the lantern on the table. Thom was attached to Peter again. It made Obi smile to see it. He walked up to stand next to Peter, facing the room. When Foster turned around, Obi looked at him and said, "Foster of Wexford?"

Foster stared at him in shock. Sallie had her hands to her lips, and was looking very worried. Foster's mouth worked up and down a few times, nothing coming out. He shook his head, and then teared up. He looked down at his hands, then back up at Obi resolutely. "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

"Mother has sent me for you," he gave the response.

Foster fumbled for a chair behind him and sat with a thump. Sallie went up to stand behind him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. After a moment he reached up and touched her arm, and she let go, leaving her hands on his shoulders.

"The master this past fall hunting season, took my oldest son with him when he went back to the manor. He's about the same age as this lad here. We don't want to leave him behind."

"This is Peter. Who is your master?" Obi asked.

"Viscount Delay."

Obi thought through his list and the locations of the various lords. "What's your son's name?"

"Thayne of Wexford."

Obi smiled reassuringly, "Mother already knew. He's on my list."

Foster slumped in relief and Sallie cried out slightly in happiness, then hugged Foster.

Obi clarified, "But I expect you to help me find him."

Foster nodded. "I can get you to the place, but if I'm seen it'll be very bad for all of us."

"That's good enough."

Sallie happily began putting a simple meal on the table. Foster started packing the few things they thought they would need with them for the trip so they could leave first thing in the morning.

Obi leaned against the side of the fireplace. "I assume the Viscount only comes during the fall hunting season?" Foster nodded. "If we could get you back here before the season, such that he wouldn't know you were gone, would you want to return?"

Foster paused, considering, then looked over to Sallie. The look said, _I want to protect you...what do you want to do?_ Her mouth set into a thin line. Foster went back to his work. "Nope," he said shortly.

Obi nodded, then crouched down next to Thom and Peter. "Does Peter remind you of your big brother?" Thom nodded. "Do you miss him?"

"Bro gone 'way," Thom answered, looking sad.

"Shall we go fetch him?" When Thom looked confused, Obi tried again, "Do you want to see Thayne again?" Thom nodded very seriously. "Alright. We'll go tomorrow morning, okay?" Thom's eyes got big, and he nodded again. Then he turned and climbed into Peter's lap. Obi smiled. "It looks like Thom has a very good big brother in Thayne. Are you okay with being a substitute for now, Peter?" Obi looked up into Peter's face.

Peter smiled. "Of course. I always thought it'd be nice to have a little brother."

"Well, I suspect Thom might just make Thayne share him," Sallie said, coming over to collect Thom and get him washed up for dinner. "You're welcome to join us, Peter."

"Thank you, ma'am," Peter said, his face turning red.

"Onions," whispered Obi to Peter, catching him just in time for Peter to laugh instead of cry.

"Well, then, come sit up," said Sallie. "It's not much, but we're glad to share our table."

"Thank you very much," the men said, and they enjoyed a quiet meal together.

The following morning it turned out that transportation was going to be a problem. Foster's family had nothing but their feet to walk on and Obi only had his horse yet. After talking to Foster about where Viscount Delay's manor was, and talking about the various options, it was agreed that Foster would take his little family and start walking to the next village down the road. Viscount Delay's manor was actually a bit off of the main road, though still on down it a ways. Obi would take Peter and go collect Thayne, then meet the rest of Foster's family. Whomever made it to the village first would see about acquiring faster transportation for the growing group.

The two groups headed to Center Road together, then Obi picked up the pace and left Foster's little family behind. Just as they were getting to the place where he was to turn off the road and head for the viscount's manor, they came upon a small group coming down that road. Obi and Peter stopped and waited on Center Road while the group turned and went in the same direction Obi had been travelling, likely going towards the village ahead. Obi noticed it was all riders, and near the head was a well dressed man. As the tail of the group turned the corner and passed him, Obi noticed one young man saw him, and then stared, almost stopping his horse, until a companion complained at him, and he kept riding, but looked back once.

"What do you think, Peter? You think that's him?" Obi asked casually.

"That's what I'd have done if it was me," Peter said.

"If that's the Viscount, gone to the village, it won't be safe for Foster to show his face there. Hop down and head back to Foster. Tell him the Viscount's in the village and so's his son, like as not. Keep coming down this way. After I get Thayne, we'll get transportation and come back and get all of you. If you make it to the village before I get out of there, come round to the far side very carefully so he's not seen, then you leave them there and come into the village to get me."

"Okay," Obi helped Peter slip off his horse. He walked a bit to straighten out his legs, then headed at a country lad's lope back down the road they had just come on.

Obi urged his horse after the group that was receding into the distance. As he watched, a single horseman detached from the group and stopped ahead. As he got closer, he could see the rider dismount and start checking the straps of his saddle, and then the horses hooves. It looked like the young man who'd recognized him had found some sort of excuse for waiting for him.

He rode up beside the young man and stopped. "Everything okay?" he asked as if trying to be helpful.

"Well, that depends," the young man said looking at him very seriously, hope and worry playing over his face.

"You seem to recognize me," Obi said.

The young man nodded.

Obi looked after the group the young man had split off from. "Is that Viscount Delay and his men?"

The young man nodded again.

"Are you Thayne of Wexford?"

Joy lit his face. "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

"Mother has sent me for you." Thayne's smile split his face. "You have your father's smile," Obi remarked.

"You've seen my Da?" Thayne asked anxiously.

Obi nodded. "They're coming behind as we don't have enough transportation right at the moment. Climb up on your horse, let's get moving before the rest of the Viscount's men get suspicious."

"Oh, right," he clambered up onto his horse. "Where are we going?" he asked when Obi continued towards the village.

"If you leave right now, the Viscount will coming looking for you. We don't need that now, do we?"

Thayne's face fell a little, "No, I suppose not."

"What kind of man is the Viscount?"

"Sly, cruel, proud." Thayne's answer was cold.

"Hah. The hardest to reason with, then. Hmm… Is there any reason he'd let you go? Without killing you?"

Thayne thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Can't think of one, sorry."

"That's okay. We'll see what happens when it happens, then." Obi knew that most of the time things like this couldn't be preplanned. What occurred could be used to one's advantage if one was prepared for using opportunities as they presented themselves, however. "One of the things we do need though, is a wagon and horse, even if they are loaners. Can you help me find that while we are in town?"

Thayne thought on that. "Yeaahhh, I think I can." Obi let him work on that thought while they rode.

They caught up to Viscount Delay and his men just after they'd arrived at the village. The viscount was speaking with the village head, who had two young men behind him. "Those are the head's son and nephew," Thayne said quietly to Obi. "They're old enough to conscript."

"The Viscount conscripts? Why?" Conscripting wasn't unheard of, but it was uncommon in times of peace.

Thayne shifted uncomfortably. Obi looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Deeds nefarious and treacherous, I take it?"

Thayne have a short nod, flushing with anger. "How many does he have in total now?" Obi asked him.

"Mmm...I'd say about two hundred fifty?" That was enough for him to bring them to a war, three or four times over what his allotment would be. How was he paying for them all?

"Stay put," Obi told Thayne, then rode close enough to hear what was being said. Glancing at all the villagers who were listening, he could see that there were no young men among them, only in the group on horseback behind the viscount. Looking closer, he could see several of the young men were sneaking looks at villagers, and vice versa. It looked like there were other split families represented here.

The village head was arguing, politely of course, with the viscount, trying to refuse to let the boys go with him. The problem was, the viscount had the right to take them if he saw fit to do so. Obi knew he should let Zen resolve the issue at the right time, but he was supposed to take one of them with him right now. How was he to do that?

"We need them to help with this year's planting, Sir, or we won't be able to provide the annual taxes to your house that's required," the village head was saying.

"And I'm saying I need them now," answered Viscount Delay impatiently.

"But Sir, they are the last two with the strength to plow the rocky land. Please, come for them after the planting's been completed."

"That sounds reasonable to me," Obi said mildly. "I think such a compromise would be good...though if it's only this two it may take a while. Maybe you could spare a few others of these behind you to help? Then you'd get these two sooner."

The viscount turned to him, anger on his face at being interrupted by a stranger. "Who might you be?"

"Messenger of the Regent of Wilant." He dared the viscount with his eyes, but his face stayed conciliatory. "Just thought I'd try to mediate the disagreement since I was passing through." The viscount's face couldn't decide whether to be red or white. "As a matter of fact, I'm glad I ran into you here, Viscount Delay. It means I don't have to detour to your manor. The Regent wanted me to stop by on my way through and see why you were short last year on your duty to the castle." The viscount's face picked white. _Good. I guessed right_. Not that it wasn't that hard to deduce. "If it's just a matter of being short on strong backs…?" Obi looked at the village head, who nodded fiercely, glad to have an ally show up out of nowhere just when he needed one. "Well, then, that's easily solved." Obi raised his voice, while looking at the lads behind the viscount. "Can we get some volunteers who'll stay here in the village and help with the spring planting until it's done?"

For a second, the men behind Viscount Delay looked at each other in confusion, then Thayne rode up. "I will." Obi nodded at him.

"Any others? Three will take a long time. If we could get, say six more of you or so?" He looked at the village elder. "That would get it done in about, what - two, three weeks?" The elder nodded, his eyes getting misty. Obi looked back at the viscount. "Once the planting's done, you won't have to worry about being behind this year, the same as last, and then they can rejoin you. Three weeks isn't really all that long. Sounds like that's a benefit all the way around." Several of the other young men behind the viscount were starting to quietly move up to join Thayne.

Viscount Delay scowled, his brain finally beginning to catch up to the suddenness of Obi's decisions. "What proof do you have you're a messenger of the Regent?"

Obi reached into his jacket and pulled out a large round amulet. It had the arms of the Regent of Wilant engraved on it as well as other things that marked him as a messenger. "Ah, sorry, I forgot. Here it is." He held it out for the viscount, and incidentally everyone else, to see. Then he tucked it back into his jacket. He waited, keeping his face mild.

Viscount Delay went for one more try. "These are my men and I say I need them now!"

"More than you need to be able to pay to the Regent and Crown your yearly due?" Obi let his face harden a little.

"I need them for the protection of my manor!" he insisted.

"Against what?" he kept his tone lightly questioning.

"...Ah...It was a hard winter..the..the wild animals from the mountains have come down further than normal…"

"You need two hundred fifty men to protect you from wild animals?" Obi asked, steel in his voice.

The viscount froze, and so did every member of his mounted group. "Ah...Ah! That's just a rumor!"

"Oh, is it," the steel was still in his voice. "Well, that would be good. After all, those kinds of numbers are usually questioned in times of _peace_. Well, then, if you're sure you can't spare ten young men to help you meet your yearly quota, and the wild animals are that bad, you won't mind me coming to your manor and checking, would you? Just to be sure, of course. The Regent would like to know if you're needing his assistance, after all. That's what I'm here for. To help him ascertain what your needs are."

Viscount Delay caved. "No, no. You're right. Just ten men for three weeks won't be too big a burden. We can manage the wild animals for that long. They'll probably leave my lands in that time, anyway, now that the spring thaws are beginning to reach the mountains."

Obi let the steel leave his voice, but it stayed firm. "Very well, if you're sure the Regent can't help with anything else…?"

The viscount shook his head. "No, no. I can manage. Thank you very much."

Obi looked at the mounted men, "Any more volunteers?"

In the end, there were ten volunteers, plus the two whom Obi had saved from conscription temporarily, and Thayne. Obi made an excuse to stay at the village a while longer, and the viscount made an excuse to escape back to his manor.

As Obi turned back to talk to the village head, most of the mounted men were getting off their horses and greeting family members, many with tears.

The village head bowed to Obi. "Thank you, Sir Messenger, for your assistance in our behalf."

Obi looked at him with sharp eyes. "I'll take this to the Regent myself, Head. ...May I ask for a few things to aid me in my other tasks?"

"Of course, if we may be of help."

"I would like to take…" he made a show of turning and looking at the remaining mounted men, and pointed to Thayne, "this one with me." Turning back to the village head, he added, "and I have recently found myself in need of a wagon and horse to pull it. It only needs to be serviceable. I can have the closest garrison return it in a few days."

"Certainly, Sir. If you could give us some time to prepare them, we can have them ready for you shortly."

Obi nodded, and the head had his son and nephew run off and get them ready. Thane moved to sit next to Obi. Obi looked at the remaining men of the viscount, who hadn't already moved off with family. "Do you have someplace these fine volunteers may stay while they help with the spring plantings?"

While the village head was distracted finding homes to put the volunteers up at, Obi said quietly to Thayne, "When they bring the wagon, tie your horse up to the back of it and drive it. We'll go back south on Center Road. I'll ride alongside you."

"Okay," Thayne said.

After about fifteen minutes, the village head's son came up, driving a wagon. As he hopped off, he smiled at Obi. "Thank you, Sir Messenger. We, my cousin and I, really wanted to help father this year. We were the only ones left to harvest last year and we lost over half of it because we couldn't get it all in before frost. The Viscount took most of it, so the village suffered. We didn't want that to happen again this year."

"You're good lads," Obi said approvingly. "I'll let the Regent know what you've told me. I'm sure he'll do something about it soon. Thank you for the wagon. It should be returned to you within the week."

The young man bowed, then ran over to his father. Obi followed him while Thayne switched from riding his horse to driving the wagon. "If you have any further need, and the Viscount continues to be difficult, send a message to the local garrison directed to the Regent."

"Yes, Sir Messenger," the head said. "Thank you again."

"Thank you for the use of the wagon and driver," Obi said and they parted.


	8. Getting to Know Mother's Children

_So there are Teen rating references in this chapter, sections 2 3 (specifically to rape, but really just faint references in character's background stories). As I said before...can't have an Obi story without grit. And I can't have an Ilena story without sad and dark backgrounds to people she knows. Just thought you ought to know..._

 _I like Thom. He's fun and section 4 of this chapter gives us a fun interaction. I liked it anyway...as a mom of kids. Then, I had a lot of fun with all of the characters Obi picked up in this round._

 _Thanks for sticking with me this far. Much more fun to come!_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 8 Getting to Know Mother's Children**

Obi led Thayne out of the village and back up on the road. Once they were away from the village, Thayne said, "That was wonderful, Father! I've never seen the Viscount given such come-uppance before. I wanted to crow." He laughed now. Then he grew sober. "He's really cruel at the manor, refusing to let any of the lads go home, me included. Mostly so we don't rat on him, I suppose. He has captains of twenty that are allowed to use the lash if they feel they need to, to keep us in line so there isn't much disorder, but there are plenty who don't like what's going on. The Regent really does need to know about it all."

Obi nodded. "You'll get your chance to say. I'll tell him what I learned myself."

Thayne was quiet for a while, then, "We're going to pick up Da and my stepmom?"

"Step-mom? Sallie isn't your mother?"

"No. Dad married her about four years ago. Mom died when I was thirteen. Sallie's pretty young for Dad, in my opinion, but she's sweet and he's been happier since then, so it's alright." He grinned, "...and Thom's great, even though he's a handful."

Obi smiled, remembering the night before. "He found us first last night. Ah, the young man with me before is Peter. We'd just gotten off the horse when Thom attached himself to Peter's leg. I hope you're not the sort to get jealous, but they've taken a liking to each other. Though really it's because Thom's been missing you."

"Nah, it's okay. There's enough of Thom to go around. Another set of eyes and hands on him's a good thing."

"That's good, because I think Thom will be good for Peter. He lost his family when he was twelve and hasn't had anyone since then, except Mother and that Family, and even then it's been very little contact." He looked at Thayne out of the corner of his eye. It looked like he was openly sympathetic. "One tip that might help you deal with Peter...if it looks like he's about to cry, say 'onion'. That should help clear it up."

"Onion?"

"When I arrived at his place to get him, he was in the middle of cutting onions, and using it as an excuse to be depressed. When he saw me, he started to cry again, then claimed it was the onions. So now I use it to tease him out of his depression," Obi gave an innocent smile to Thayne, who laughed.

"All right, I'll remember."

When they passed the road to the manor, they didn't see any remnants of the Viscount or his men. Obi was relieved. He started looking sharply for signs that Foster might have taken his family off the road. Then they saw four figures on the road ahead of them and Thayne asked, "Is that them?" When Obi nodded, he whipped the horse into a fast canter. Obi kept up with him, a faint smile on his face. As they came level with the family and Peter, Thayne reigned in the horse, then jumped down and ran to his father and grabbed him in a happy embrace, nearly disappearing in his huge father's great hug. When his father finally let him go, he hugged Sallie gently, then grabbed up Thom, who grabbed the hair on either side of his head and hugged him, crying and calling 'Bro! Bro!' Then, holding Thom in one arm, he stuck his hand out to Peter, a broad grin on his face. "Thayne. Nice to meet you."

Peter shyly took his hand. "Peter. Nice to meet you, too."

Foster took the reins of the wagon horse and turned the wagon around, then helped Sallie climb in. Thayne tried to put Thom in with her, but Thom held onto his hair tight and wouldn't let go. Thayne laughed. "Hey, Peter, you get in first. We'll see if Thom will go to you. I can't get in while holding him."

Peter looked pleased to be asked to help and climbed in, then held his hands out to Thom, "Thom. Come to me so Thayne can get in too."

Thom thought about it for a minute, then released Thayne and went to Peter. Thayne looked up at Obi. "Is it okay if I ride with them for a bit?"

Obi considered it, then answered, "After we're out of the danger zone."

Foster touched Obi's boot to get his attention. Softly he said, "Thank you, Father, for getting Thayne out and back to us."

Obi smiled back, but his words were more serious. "I don't know if the Viscount left men to watch the road or not. Until we're past the village, you aren't in the clear. It would be safest if you, Sallie, and Thom could lie down in the bottom of the wagon and cover yourselves until we reach that point. I legitimately have Thayne as the driver for the wagon, and if they remember Peter, it was that he was already with me. I understand it may be difficult for Thom, now that he has his two brothers with him, but if you could help him understand, that would be very helpful. Once we are past the village would be the better time for a family reunion. I don't anticipate any difficulties, but I'd like to be safe, rather than sorry later."

Foster nodded his understanding and climbed up into the wagon. Somehow they managed to convince Thom to play hide and seek with 'Ma' and 'Da', and Thayne took up the reins again and got the wagon going.

"I'd like to pick up the pace a bit," Obi said. "I'm sorry if it makes the ride uncomfortable, but we need to be at the next place by evening, I think." Thayne nodded.

Obi set the pace back to the fast canter he'd used with Peter, and Thayne kept up, though the horse pulling the wagon was a bit lazy and had to be encouraged.

They made it past the village without mishap, and Obi couldn't sense any watchers from the trees and scrub at the point the road went up to the viscount's manor. He hoped that was a good enough escape for Foster and his family. After they passed the village and turned onto North Road, he let Foster know and the little family came out of hiding. Foster traded places with Thayne so that Thom could have his brother sandwich. Obi noticed Sallie had a bit of a tear in her eye, looking at all three boys together. It looked like Peter would be alright. Thayne told the 'exciting' story of how 'Father' had bested the Viscount. Sallie looked at Obi with misty eyes. "I am sure the families of those other boys are as happy to have them back as we are. Thank you for that, also."

Foster nodded. "And thanks for helping the village. There was more than one poacher from there I ended up turning a blind eye to by the end of the winter. They were starting to get as scrawny as Bean Pole, here," he jerked his thumb at Peter. "I figured since the Viscount was starving them of grain, he could feed them meat."

Obi nodded. What had happened there was sad, and needed fixing. He did wish, though, that these 'Children' of 'Mother' would stop crying over everything, happy or sad, that happened.

While the family caught up, and learned about Peter, Obi thought about what was next. It was likely to be difficult, the one after this. This one, they would be able to find a place to sleep again, and could stay together. But the next one...he'd just have to send them in the wagon on to the garrison and meet up with them there. He looked speculatively at Thayne.

"Thayne," Obi slowed to be level with him, "what kind of training were you getting at the Viscount's?"

"Eh? Oh, well, simple arms, sneak hit and runs, that kind of thing."

"Good."

"Heh?" But Obi had already moved back up into his position ahead of the wagon, just behind the level of the wagon's horse to goad it on.

-o-o-o-

They arrived at a roadside inn at early evening. Obi'd wanted to get there early enough that they could already have rooms before it got crowded with that night's main road travellers. It looked like they had made it in time. While Foster and Thayne handled getting the horses and wagon put up in the inn stable, Obi went in and paid for two rooms.

When he came back out, he gathered everyone where they wouldn't be overly noticed. "I'm really sorry to have to break up the family group so horribly tonight, but I'd like us to not be memorable so much. This is a public place so we're likely to be noticed if we all stay together, and if any such semblance of the Foster family is seen and remembered, the Viscount will be able to track us. So, for tonight, I'd like for Sallie, Thom, and Peter to sit at one table to eat, and be in one room." He handed Sallie a key. "Foster, Thayne, and I'll sit at the other. Because of Foster's size, he'll be remembered, but it might be safer if he is remembered as being with me, than with his wife and young child. The Viscount might think twice about continuing to find you if he thinks I was pumping you for further information about his deeds that need to be reported. If you're with your family, he may think he can find you and use them against you." Everyone nodded. "We'll be across the hall from each other, so if something happens, call out, or come knock," he looked at Sallie, then Peter. They nodded.

Obi looked around. It looked like they had more time. "Tomorrow, I want Peter, Sallie, and Thom to start walking east as soon as you're done eating breakfast. Eat as early as you can, to be among the first to leave. Foster, Thayne, and I will come down a little later and be leisurely. Foster, you'll pick up the wagon after the bulk of travellers has left and head out. Make sure you're as clear of as many as possible by the time you pick up the rest of the family that's walking. Then head on straight for the garrison. Don't stop until you get there, as you'll already be getting there pretty late. If you can get that lazy nag to move, move her." Foster nodded. "Tell them you're 'part of the circle' and that you've been told to wait for the messenger. They should give you quarters, and stable the horse. Then wait until Thayne and I get there."

"What are we going to do?" Thayne asked.

"We'll leave here in the morning as some of the last travellers, then ride hard to where we need to be."

He looked at Sallie and Foster, "One of you will have an additional member to your group by morning, but I don't know who yet. If someone shows up and goes with you, just go with the flow." They nodded.

He sent Sallie and her group in first as Thom was getting too hungry to wait around any more, then he made sure his group was obvious in the courtyard between the stable and inn for a while before going in to get their supper. Once they were sitting down, Thane asked Obi, "So what are we really going to do?"

"Sneak hit and run," Obi said seriously. "We've got two to get out of a high place. I'm not expecting it to be simple for that one."

Foster frowned. "Are you sure you don't want me to come along?"

Obi smiled at him. "Thanks for offering your strength. I'd use it if I needed it. But for a sneak thief job, you're a bit big. Plus I think your strength would be better used to protect the others, if it should be needed." Foster nodded. He could appreciate that.

"Hey, handsome!" a woman's voice came from Obi's right as a plate was set down in front of him. He looked up into a grinning face that would be considered appealing by most men. "I like this table!" She put a plate down in front of Thayne and carelessly ran a finger up his arm, making him blush. "But you're really a piece of work," she put Foster's plate down in front of him, then put her hands on her hips as she looked at him. "You really stand out, don't you?"

Foster looked at her disinterestedly. "I suppose. But it can't be helped." He dug into his food.

The woman looked back at Obi. "But you interest me most. Are you looking for anyone to talk to tonight?" Just the right amount of flirtatiousness. Sometimes he'd liked this kind of person, at least to flirt with.

He put his chin in his hand, like he was thinking about it. "Well, actually, I was. You wouldn't happen to know Elandra of Lyrias, would you?"

"Well, actually, I might," her eyes lit up and a real smile actually curled her lips.

"Then, later, when it's getting to after hours, I'll come looking for her. You'll let her know for me, will you?"

"Sure thing, handsome." She waved a little wave back at them as she walked off to bring out the next order.

Thayne looked at Obi with big round eyes. "Is that it?"

Obi shrugged as he shoveled food into his mouth. "Just about." Even though it was his first time to be collecting people like this, it somehow all felt very familiar. _Ah, just like the work I used to do, all rolled up into one big job._ But somehow it felt a lot better. ...Which surprisingly was making it feel like fun. It was stuff he was good at, and he didn't have to feel bad while doing it. Maybe he'd thank Ilena when he got back, if he survived the next night, but even that kind of excitement was fun, in it's own way.

But...now that he'd thought of Ilena again, he was having troubles not thinking about her. He wondered if she would have had just as much fun as he was. Peter's story had given him a clue that she didn't just always stay around the manor and be just a steward. She'd been on jobs, too. "Foster, how'd you meet Mother, if you can say in this place?" Obi asked.

"The Viscount is one of the Earl's allies," he said shortly. "She came with early on, but not as much later, when they would meet at the lodge for meetings mixed with hunting. She's an excellent shot, by the way, at least back then. ...I didn't think much of her back then at first." His face got dark. "Then one of the Earl's higher-ups decided he liked my wife - that is, my first wife. When I found her ravaged and dead, I howled in grief. ...Mother heard it and found me." He stopped.

Obi was horrified, though he tried not to show it too much. "I take it she was her usual self at her best, then," he said softly. "Mother through and through."

Both Foster and Thayne nodded. "She had me lift my wife up and got us into the house, the main house. I didn't even know until her cold, angry voice cut through my grief. We were standing in front of the Earl and she cut into him with that cold, steel voice until he was near to weeping himself. Then she demanded payment in kind and the Earl coolly turned and in one blow sliced the head off the man who'd done it. He followed it up with an apology to the Viscount, and then to me, though I barely heard it, then went right back to eating." Foster shook his head at the callousness.

"She led me back out and to my house, gathering up a few of the maids. She cleaned up my wife with her own hands and put her favorite dress on her, while one maid held Thayne and one held my hand. Then, while we said our farewells, she marched several other of the men out to dig a burial grave right then. She came back in and said she wouldn't make me put her in the ground yet, but a man shouldn't have to beg the earth to open up, just ask it to be a soft bed and blanket." A tear dripped down Foster's face. "I'll ever be grateful she said and did that."

He wiped the tear off his face. "The next time she came, I found an opportunity to thank her. She looked at me, her face stone as ever it was, and said if I really wanted to thank her, I'd stay where I was and remember every last thing the Viscount and Earl were doing. And when she called for me, I'd come. If I'd come, then my revenge could be complete, if I wanted it. If I didn't, her revenge would be. That was enough for me." He shrugged. "I told Thayne about that little talk, and before I married Sallie, I told her, too. Course Sallie would have come anyway. She was one of the junior maids there. She saw the burial of my first wife. And then..." he couldn't say it. Anger and grief were mixed in his face. He waved at Thayne, who gently touched his dad's arm, then took over the story.

"Thom isn't Da's son, least not his body's son. They were getting sweet on each other, though I wasn't liking that much. Then one night, when the Viscount and his men were at the lodge, Sallie came to the door really late at night. I could hear them talking downstairs. She'd been raped by one of the Viscount's men. When she found out she was pregnant for sure, Da married her right then. I didn't complain. We all promised we'd raise the child as part of our family. He hadn't done nothing wrong, neither had Sallie. He's a handful, but we love him as our own."

Obi shook his head. No wonder they all kept crying. Ilena did always seem to pick the hardest hit folks. Any kindness, any caring was like water to a man dying of thirst. She provided it both naturally and with precision, and without reserve. It was looking like not only had she not changed at all, but she'd become stronger so she could be herself to an even fuller extent. There was also an element of manipulation in it. Probably because she'd had to learn to manipulate Earl College...but her manipulation of these witnesses, it was only ever made as an offer. Not coerced or forced. An offer for payment. A reward for effort if effort was made. It couldn't really be called bad, but somehow it wasn't really sitting quite right. He couldn't quite make out why yet.

"I'm sorry to make you remember past pains, but thank you for telling me," Obi said. As a pair, they shrugged. _Like father, like son_ , Obi couldn't help but think.

"You of all people ought'ta know," Foster said.

Obi wondered why he said it, but he nodded anyway. _Because I've lived through it too, or because they want me to understand who she is now?_

They wrapped up dinner and headed to the bedroom. Obi ordered them to bed. "I'll be back in a bit," he said as he went out the window. "It's time to collect the next Child." The other two nodded.

Obi went up to the roof and scouted around both there and at the ground on all sides of the inn. While he was looking, a light came from the back of the inn briefly. The kitchen door had been opened, then closed. He sat and waited. After a bit, he heard quiet scrabbling, then soft footsteps. He smiled when he saw the waitress from dinner. "Elandra of Lyras?"

She smiled back flirtatiously twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

He answered back, "Mother has sent me for you."

She dropped to her knees in front of him. "Took you long enough."

"How many times have you been up here looking for me?"

"Only eight," she said with exasperation.

"Liar."

"Okay, this is the second."

"Sorry I'm late. I had business to take care of."

Elandra pouted, then gave up and sighed. She rolled off her knees to sit, pulling her knees up to her chest. Looking up to the sky, she breathed in a deep breath, then let it out. "It's nice to be out where there's space."

Obi agreed. He'd been missing it too, even though he'd gone up on the Osterly garrison roof plenty. Somehow that had still seemed closed in. Here, where they were surrounded by woods, scrub, and with the mountains in the backdrop to the north, it felt comfortingly open.

"Is there space where I'm going?" she asked, her eyes closed, her face still upturned to the sky.

Obi leaned back on his hands and thought about that. Would he like to be there? "The house roof is harder to get up on, but if you go on the stable roof, that's about right."

She nodded. "That's alright then."

"Can you just walk away?" he wanted to know how to add her to the plans.

"Mmm, yeah. I've been training another waitress for a few months now, getting ready. I should let them know tonight I'm leaving, though. I'd like to get paid, after all," she grinned at him.

He grinned back. "I'd like you to leave first thing in the morning, then. Can you handle that?"

"I don't get to sleep in? Aww." She turned away from him. "Well, really, I've been ready to go. That's alright with me."

"The young woman, really skinny kid, and the little boy. You remember them?"

"Um-hm."

"Wait until they've left for the road. Follow after them and catch up. She's the wife of the big guy that was sitting with me, step-mom of the third one at the table. The big guy, Foster, will be coming after the lot of you with the wagon later. Thayne and I will catch up with you all tomorrow night." He paused and looked at her, then leaned over and grabbed a strand of hair, pulling her head back until she was looking at him in the eye. "And if you betray me, or any of us, I will fillet you alive."

She flipped over so fast, Obi almost didn't see it. She ended up five feet away, in a cat pose. Her eyes glittered. _I thought so._ "What's one of the underworld doing as a Child of Mother?" he asked her in his usual way of just wanting to know. He hadn't moved much, but he was now completely balanced, ready for anything.

Elandra rushed him. He dodged and deflected her attack. Then he made a sweep at her legs. She leapt over them and directly at him. He snatched her arm out of the air as she went past his dodge, twisted it and slammed her into the roof, holding her other shoulder with his other hand and putting a knee on her hip. He couldn't afford to just play this trip. If she really was a plant, she had to go. She was about to move again when she felt the tip of his throwing knife against her throat. She froze, breathing hard. Obi's eyes glittered.

"If you'll fight this seriously to protect _them_ , will you fight this hard to protect me?" she demanded to know.

"If you're really one of Mother's Children," his voice was as sharp as his eyes, though quiet.

"She picked me up out of the gutter after I was thrown out like an extra kitten no one wants. I'd been promised position and prominence because I had a pretty face, then was promptly tossed when something better came along. ...But I wasn't just tossed out, I was tossed to the wolves while the bastard watched and laughed. I assume you know what that means for one like me." Obi did. "I was nearly dead when she found me. She carried me into an abandoned house, washed me, bandaged me, then held me while I cried the last tears I've ever cried. She gave me strength, what I needed to know to become what I am today. She's never judged me, not for my face or my anger, but she has asked for my loyalty. ...She has it. I'm ready to go, if she says it's time."

Obi couldn't fully trust her. Such a thing didn't exist between people of the underworld, but they could declare a truce until it was broken by one party or the other. He slowly moved off of her, backing up to four feet away. She didn't move until he was set, then she carefully sat up, her hands resting loosely on her knees, a position of defenselessness. That set the truce agreement. She'd behave or she'd die. It was the unspoken rule of the darkness. He slipped his throwing knife back into its place and very slightly relaxed, but he didn't take his eyes off of her. He nearly considered taking her as back up to the next place, then decided against it. She was just a bit too flashy, and having a second as back-up to Foster wouldn't be a bad thing. Especially since she'd be with the defenseless group before Foster could get to them.

"You know what to do then," he stated.

She nodded, "Follow, then join up with, the Mom, kid, and toddler. Wait at the next stop."

Obi stood, still looking at her. "Off you go, then."

She carefully stood, then ran lightly to the edge of the roof and dropped off. He waited until the light from the kitchen door being opened and closed disappeared. Then he made sure there wasn't anyone else on the roof. When his senses declared it was safe, he dropped into a crouch. Mother was insane. That's all there was to it. She'd taken a red light district girl and turn her into a man-eating machine. They were the worst sort to run into of all the female underworld types. There was no doubt Ilena had known exactly what she was doing when she did it. Why? Why did she need such a person on her payroll? Here...out in the middle of nowhere...flirtatious in the dining room, deadly in the bedroom. Why here? There must be information to be gained.

He raised his own face to the sky, not seeing it. _Ilena, you crazy woman, why do I have to keep liking you more and more? Would you run with me, if you could? How crazy it must be making you, to not have your legs._ He thought about how she'd loved the race through the ambush and how she'd been acting the night before he left. _Yeah, you wanted to come, too, didn't you?_ He dropped his face back down to look at his hands. His right hand curled, remembering the warmth of her forehead when he touched it to see if she was fevered. " _Are you feeling okay?" "I am now."_ He gently closed his right hand. "I'll get them back to you." Somehow he couldn't quite bring himself to say the words, 'I'll come back to you'. Not yet.

After a while, he stood and took himself back to his window and let himself back in. He dropped into his bed, and he was suddenly back in those early years, when he put himself to sleep by remembering her small, thin, but strong arms wrapped around his head. His heart ached, but then it always had when he was on the run, that wasn't anything new. He fell asleep the same now as he did then, slowly drifting into her warmth.

The next morning went like it was supposed to. That made Obi happy. As he and Thayne mounted their horses, he wondered how the girls had gotten along.

-o-o-o-

"Hey, there, little fella'!"

Sallie jumped a little at a strange voice so close to them, and she quickly looked back behind her. "Thom!" she scolded.

"Ah, it's okay, ma'am," the curls in the chestnut brown hair of the woman behind her immediately made Sallie jealous. She couldn't keep her plain hair looking nice, no matter what she did to it. "He's just being rambunctious."

"Ra-buctus?" Thom looked up at the new woman puzzled.

"It's another word for 'little boy'," the woman explained to him with a smile.

Thom started to skip around all three of the larger people as they continued walking, chanting, "Ra-buctus, buctus, buctus!"

Even Sallie had to smile. "Isn't that the truth."

"Do you mind if I travel with you guys for a bit?" the new woman asked lightly.

Peter was eyeing her like he might eye a dangerous, or creepy, creature. Sallie could tell he wanted to shake his head 'no' at her...as in 'no, don't do it!' But Sallie remembered Father's instructions from the evening before.

"As long as Father said it's okay."

"Ah," the buxom woman put her hands behind her head, and looked away over the mountains. "He did, but I had to pass his test first."

Sallie raised an eyebrow. The man she knew as 'Father' hadn't tested any of the rest of them, as far as she knew. But then, she would have tested this woman, too. Come to think of it, hadn't she been working the room last night? ...Yes, she had. She was the one that had taken food to Foster's table and flirted with them, though Foster'd been good and ignored her. Ah. She was letting Father know who she was. They must have met up some time after that for the formal introduction.

"I'm Sallie, the 'rabuctus' over there is Thom, and this is Peter. I've decided to adopt him because he needs more family." Peter shyly ducked his head at the woman, but wouldn't look at her.

The woman smiled at him, then looked back at Sallie. "Hi Sallie, I'm Elandra. It's nice to make your acquaintance. Hey, Thom Rabuctus, can you say 'E-land-ra'?"

He looked up at her with innocent eyes, "E-lad-wa."

"That's close, try again, 'E-land-ra'," she encouraged him.

"E-land-wa."

"Great say it again: Elandra."

"Elandwa."

"Awesome. That's me," she pointed at her chest. "Elandra."

Thom pointed at her and said, "Elandwa," very seriously.

Elandra smiled, then turned to Peter, "Now it's your turn. You say it too." He blushed bright red, but wouldn't look up. "Oh, no! You can't let a three year old best you! Come on, you can say it: E-land.."

Thom grabbed her hand. "Elandwa, Peto cwy. Don't."

Elandra looked at him in surprise. "Don't make Peter cry?" Then her face softened. "I'm sorry, Thom. I didn't mean to. You must really care for Peter, huh?"

Thom nodded. "Bro-Bro." Peter's eyes widened.

"Bro-Bro, Thom? Are you sure?" Sallie asked him.

Thom nodded emphatically. "Bro-Bro." He let go of Elandra's hand and skipped over to Peter and took his hand. He looked up into Peter's face and said it again, "Bro-Bro." Peter looked at him softly, a smile on his face.

"Haah. That's the way it is, is it?" Elandra sighed.

"I think he must mean that you're the brother of his brother because you're about the same size and age," Sallie tried to explain it the way adults must.

Peter smiled at her. "It's okay with me." He looked away before they could see the tears in his eyes again.

Elandra was paying attention to him out of the corner of her eye. He was pretty fragile. She'd have to tone it down for him. Ah well, that would be nice for a change, right?

She kept up light chatter while they walked, getting Sallie to talk girl talk with her until she finally opened up and relaxed. It was painfully obvious Sallie hadn't had another woman to talk to for quite some time. Peter still would at best watch Thom, answer Sallie's direct questions, or throw frightened glances at her, but that was okay.

After a while, when Thom was riding up on Peter's shoulders, his little legs finally having given out, they heard a horse and wheels coming up behind them. Sallie turned around to look, then stopped, smiling. The others stopped and turned around also.

Foster pulled up next to them, halting the horse. He smiled at Sallie and Thom, nodded at Peter, then looked at Elandra and sighed. "Of course."

Elandra raised an eyebrow. "Should I be offended that you're disappointed?"

Sallie said, "Foster, this is Elandra. She says Father tested her before letting her come along."

Foster gave Elandra another appraising look. "Well, okay, then. ...Hop in, the lot of you. We're supposed to travel fast today."

Once they were in and going, Elandra looked at Thom. "Your Dad wasn't kidding was he? I feel like we're riding a grasshopper. Bounce, bounce, bounce!"

Thom laughed. "Gwasshoppeu! Bounce, bounce, bounce!" He added his own bouncing to the bouncing of the wagon. Elandra and Sallie laughed and even Peter smiled at Thom's antics, then grabbed him when he got a little too close to the side of the wagon.

"Don't bounce out, grasshopper rider," he said tenderly.

Thom laughed and patted Peter, but settled in his lap still saying softly, "Bounce, bounce, bounce."

Elandra looked at the two boys a moment, then turned her head and looked north towards the mountains. Every now and then her eyes glanced back behind them.

After what seemed like hours, though it was probably only a very few, the sound of galloping hooves could be heard coming up behind them. She'd been watching them for a while now, waiting for them. As they got close enough for their features to be made out, Elandra sighed. Why did Father have to be Mother's? She'd liked the face when she first saw it, and she knew how he moved instinctively, but last night... That'd been something else. He'd put her down faster than she'd ever been put down. The tempo of her heartbeat from her fear...it had been over an hour before she had calmed down enough to sleep. She knew he wouldn't ever be hers, and not because Mother said so. His body and his words had said so. He was Mother's through and through. The same as she was, but even deeper.

The riders slowed a little as they came up on the wagon until they were matching speed. Father smiled at them. "Are you guys getting along okay? I'm glad to see you met up."

Elandra gave him one of her flirtatious smiles. "We're doing great. Wish you could stay, too."

He shook his head, a worried look flitting across his face, then gone. "You guys need to get on to the garrison. We'll see you later tonight."

"Bro! Bro!" Thom was waving his hands at Thayne.

"Hey, Mister Thom!" Thayne grinned at him. "Are you keeping Peter company?"

"Yup!" Thom said proudly.

"Good job," Thayne said. "Don't let him fall out, Peter." Peter shook his head and clutched Thom a little tighter, though he stayed gentle.

Father had moved up to talk to Foster. He called back to Thayne, "Let's go."

Thane said, "See ya!" and took off after Father.

Elandra watched them leave and sighed as she rested her chin on her fist, her elbow propped up by the side of the wagon. _See ya._


	9. Obi Pays a Price

_I hope you enjoy. This chapter brings stress to Obi and a few laughs._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9 Obi Pays a Price**

Obi was buried in the trees by the side of the road, changing his clothes. He'd come prepared for this one. When Ilena had listed off the names, he'd recognized one of the two for this place. It was going to be his hardest 'theft'. He frowned, still not sure his plan would work, but hoping it would. It helped that Thayne had some training, even if it was for less than a year. He restraightened everything one more time, hoping it looked alright. It was the best he could do without a mirror. Maybe it could be excused by the fact they were riding, and that tended to muss things up generally.

He walked out of the woods to where Thayne was walking the labored horses to cool them. Thayne whistled as Obi walked up to stow his riding clothes. "That's some fancy get up."

Obi grimaced at him. "They're my official formals." He pulled out another packet of clothing and handed it to Thayne. "Your turn." He nodded his head at the woods, and Thayne trotted off.

Obi had watered the horses and fed them a bit of grain, though not enough to cause stomach troubles, by the time Thayne walked back out. Obi eyed him appraisingly, then straightened a few details. "That'll do." _If you can act cool, strict, and stand up straight for a long time...and keep a straight closed face at all times, well...never mind._ "Do your best." He stowed Thayne's clothes, then hung the bag containing their clothes up in a tree that he marked with his own special mark. The sword was next. Obi took a sheath out from under his saddle blanket and said, "Trade." While Thayne redid his belt, Obi tossed the old sheath into the woods. Their things were going to be searched. "Now you look like a royal guard for a high and mighty messenger. Let's get going." They mounted, but took it at a slower canter now that they were this close and dressed up.

Thayne grinned at Obi. "You're going as yourself, eh? I hear that's always the best disguise."

Obi shook his head. "No, I'm going as a pain in the ass bribeable messenger. I'm not bribeable, but I need an excuse to talk to both the high and the low at this place. You remember the plan. When I send you to the stables, get the horses ready immediately. Knock out stable hands if you need to. Getting the horses back is the weakest link and we have to have them to run fast enough to get away." Obi stopped, Ilena's teachings coming to mind, along with a back up plan.

They would be expecting them to run hard on their horses. If push came to shove, he should do something unexpected. Like not run at all, or run the opposite direction. He considered the options, found a couple that might work, then decided to keep them all as second possibilities. He really did want to run as fast as possible because he wanted to get to the garrison as soon as possible. The Children would be safe there until pursuit died down, and waiting there for that to happen was already going to add more time than he wanted.

They rode up to yet another mansion. Obi sighed internally. Then relaxed into his role. "Call the house steward out," he ordered Thayne. "When he gets here, tell him Lord Oxley, Messenger of the Regent, is here to pay a call to the Earl Malkin."

Thayne nodded, then pulled in a deep breath and called loudly for the house steward. It took a while for him to appear, probably because they weren't expecting guests, so Obi played the impatient lord and made Thayne call for him again. He could feel eyes on him from windows and around corners. He'd already pasted a thin sneer of impatience on his face when they rode up. When the steward finally showed up, panting slightly from hurrying to the door, Thayne played the serious but slightly bored guard, who just bordered on impatient from having to deal with a slime bag of a Lord and introduced 'Lord Oxley' easily. Obi was impressed. They probably had half a chance now.

He produced his messenger's token in a bored fashion for the steward, slipping his little finger over the part that identified him specifically, then put it away after the steward nodded satisfied. The steward of Salisbury Earldom bowed and sent off the page that was behind him to inform Earl Malkin of his unexpected guest. "If you would please come this way, Lord Oxley." The steward invited them in. Both men slipped off their horses as a middle aged stable hand stepped up by the heads of the horses. They handed him their reins and followed the steward into the house.

The steward showed them into a receiving room, properly apportioned. Obi noted that it was simply decorated, but what was there was quite valuable. Earl Malkin prized value over opulence. And was using his money for something other than trinkets, though that was just what this public room said. He sat in the room's head chair, keeping to his half-bored, half-proud face. Thayne took up a position behind and to the side of him. Good boy. He'd been paying attention at the viscounty Obi had stolen him from. The steward offered him a glass of wine. He accepted it half-heartedly, as merely his due, but as if it was just tolerable, then sipped it. Ah, a reward for the hard work he was going to do...the wine was the same as the trinkets in the room. He allowed his surprised appreciation to leak through just a bit and relaxed into a more accepting pose.

The steward bowed himself out of the room. Obi looked around bored. He really was bored. It happened a lot when he had to deal with nobility. For right now it was wait until their things had been brought into the house and searched.

Earl Malkin walked into the room when Obi was about two-thirds done with his glass of wine - and he'd sipped it slow. He allowed his displeasure to show, a cross scowl that hid nothing of his disdain for this Earl. "Really, Earl Malkin, surely there is nothing so important to be doing in such an out of the way place as this as to have you keep me waiting so long?"

"I apologize, Lord Oxley." The earl said in a smooth bass voice. He was a seasoned veteran, likely in his late fifties, early sixties, and his bulk was honed muscle, Obi was sure. "What may I do for you so late in the day and far away from the castle?" Here was an opponent worthy of Obi.

"I'm sorry to have to impose on you tonight," he didn't sound sorry, "but when I learned that the only places to rest on this stretch of the road were the garrison and the rowdy inn," he allowed himself a slight shudder. "Well, of course the only place to come was to visit Earl Malkin." The earl gave a tight smile and his eyes slit just a bit. Obi swirled the wine and looked at it appreciatively, completely ignoring the fact that the earl was justifiably upset that he hadn't bothered to send notice ahead of time that he was coming. But that oversight could be a benefit as well - it meant it wasn't an official visit. "I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rurality of your location has not affected your ability to appreciate the refined." He sipped the wine again.

He could feel Earl Malkin about to take him down a notch, and looked over the edge of the glass with cold, hard eyes. The earl stopped short, surprised. That wasn't the look of someone who was just a hopeless sop. He recalculated. Obi could see it in his eyes. "I haven't had the opportunity to make your acquaintance before, Lord Oxley." Earl Malkin smoothly sat down in the second most important seat in the room and the steward, who had followed the earl in, poured him a glass of the wine.

Obi held his out for a refill, ignoring the steward. When he'd been topped off, he let it slip to dangle from his hand. Now it was time for the back and forth under-the-surface testing. He took a mental breath and let his eyes narrow to half lidded annoyance. "I was recently called up to Wilant from Wistal. Regent Zen apparently is having troubles getting the lesser lords of Wilant to bow to his assignment and sent the request for assistance to his home castle." He looked up at Earl Malkin without moving anything but his eyeballs, gauging his reaction. He was good. Nothing showed of what he thought...yet. "But, I am sure that is not the case with Earl Malkin, of course," Obi added smoothly, as if he didn't care if it was or not.

The earl sipped at his wine thoughtfully, a look of false concern on his face. "The wilds of Clarines' north are certainly a difficulty for someone used to the refined culture of the capitol. Is the Fountain of Oren still as beautiful as it was?" He was testing to see if Obi had actually come from the capitol. Since he had, it wasn't that hard.

"It is even more beautiful, now that the reconstruction is complete and the new gardens around it are beginning to bloom," he pouted. "I was looking forward to seeing more than just the early spring crocus, but my new assignment pulled me away before the full glory of the spring flowers appeared." Obi was beginning to have a tired tongue. Lords always had to talk too much.

Earl Malkin murmured sympathetically, and Obi took another sip of the wine. It was time to lay down a careful lure. "But even more beautiful are the gardens of Flower Row." He looked away as if into memory...that wasn't hard either, though it was now a more distant memory. "...such beautiful flowers. I have yet to see anything of their like in the harsh north of Wilant, however." He frowned regretfully into his drink, then decided not to taste it yet. He looked up suddenly, as if thinking a sudden thought and caught the look in the earl's eyes before it was smoothed over. He'd caught the lure. He thought he knew now, how to reel in Lord Oxley.

"Well, I hope you're able to at least find a comfortable rest tonight." The earl said comfortingly. "I'll have rooms prepared for you." The steward bowed slightly and stepped out of the room to give the order. "Dinner will be ready shortly. Is there anything I can do to help you in the meantime?"

Obi drank a sip of the wine, then downed the rest of it and set his cup on the table in front of him. "It's been a long ride in the saddle this day. It would be nice if I could stretch my legs a bit before eating."

The earl slowly finished his wine, looking sideways over the brim at Obi, then stood and set his cup down deliberately. "I would be happy to have one of my children show you about the manor, if you like. I have things to do in the meantime, myself."

Obi stood also. "Thank you for your hospitality." This time, he didn't sound the sop. Rather it was the conclusion of a business transaction.

"This way please," The earl led him out of the receiving room and back into the large entry hall, with Thayne following silently. He stopped a household member and asked where Dane was, then sent that servant off to fetch him. "Dane is my second son," Earl Malkin explained. "My eldest, Tairn, is at Castle Wilant in training. My daughter is married to the Marquis duLuke."

"Ah, I see," Obi allowed a slight look of regret to pass quickly across his face, as if he'd hoped the daughter would be coming to escort him. "I have no children of my own." _Yet somehow, I can all of a sudden claim just how many? I should ask Ilena when I get back. ...On second thought, that might be too big a blow. I'm not really that old yet._ Obi entertained himself on the inside while the outside was as bored as ever.

Presently, a man about Obi's age came quickly around the corner, "Yes, Father?" he said automatically, then stopped short when he saw Obi.

"Ah, Dane, this is Lord Oxley, messenger for Regent Zen. He's recently come to Wilant from Wistal and is affording himself of our hospitality for the night." It was said neutrally enough, but it let Obi know he was still a little ticked at being used. Not that Obi cared.

Obi nodded in a sop-ish sort of way at Dane. "Pleased to meet you, I'm sure," he said a little cooly.

Dane recovered a little slow and his father looked at him reproachfully. "Ah, ah yes, Lord Oxley. Pleased to meet you, likewise."

"Dane, please take Lord Oxley on a tour of the manor to pass the time before the evening meal. I'm sure you can be of help in allowing him to feel our hospitality." The earl was not fond of this child, from the sound of it. _The fifth wheel?_ Obi felt a little bad for the son.

"Yes, father," Dane bowed again to his father, his attitude one of cool obedience. Earl Malkin looked after them, calculatingly, until they turned the corner, then went his own way.

The tour inside was just as boring as any tour would be, but Obi carefully memorized the layout of the manor. He also would interrupt Dane any time it looked like he was about to say the words he wasn't supposed to, since he hadn't been acknowledged yet. And he stayed in character.

Finally Dane asked, nearly in tears of frustration and desperation, "Is there anything else you could care to see, Lord Oxley?"

Obi looked at him, his eyes saying _finally!_ , "A bit of fresh air would be nice. Do you have any gardens? Or is it still too cool here in the north for them to have bloomed as of yet?"

Dane's face took on a more happy look and his eyes said, _Oh! Sorry, of course. People are around._ "I'm sorry, Lord Oxley, only the early spring blossoms have appeared, but I would be happy to show them to you, if you would like."

Obi waved his hand, "I guess it will have to do. That was all I was able to see in Wistal before I came as well. How much longer before the spring blooms appear here in Wilant?" He asked this question as they were exiting the manor out the back door.

"I believe it should be within a month or less," Dane said leading them around to where there was a small but pleasant garden.

Obi looked around the grounds of the manor, placing the family rooms and the guest rooms on the inside with where the windows exited to the outside. He took a deep breath of the outside air, glad to be there for even a moment. He looked towards the mountains rising with their rocky peaks into the evening sky. "The majesty of the mountains is certainly a thing the south doesn't have," he commented appreciatively. "But the north doesn't have the sea, which in its own way is just as grand."

Dane depreciated. "I haven't seen the sea, so I can't say."

So the father had left the son here when he had been to Wistal. "Does your mother tend to the garden?" he asked Dane.

Dane shook his head. "Mother was from the south and her constitution was never quite suited to the north. She passed when I was eight."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

Dane was surprised by the genuineness of Obi's comment. Everything else had been coated with the oil of disingenuity. They'd move through the garden far enough that Obi could now see the placement of the stables in relation to the manor. He crouched down and looked down at a flower at his feet. "Oh! Is this the _Olin Maris_ I've been hearing about?" Obi knew all about it. It was the research Mistress had been working on for nearly three years now.

Dane nodded proudly. "Yes, I was finally able to obtain some seeds from Lyrias last fall after hearing about it. It's been doing well. I am looking forward to seeing the glow…." he trailed off. Obi looked up at him sympathetically, putting his real face on for a brief time. Dane looked at him with serious consideration for a moment, then determination.

Softly Obi said, "Are you Dane Malkin?"

Dane took a breath and a much greater leap of faith than all the rest and said, "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

"Mother has sent me for you," Obi said with great respect. Then, while Dane collected himself, Obi stood up and brushed himself off fastidiously, allowing his outward actions to continue to be the sop for the benefit of the servants who were likely watching them.

Thayne, who was trying to hide his surprise, had been following behind them silently. Obi turned to him now and said casually, a disinterested look on his face, "Do you have the distance measured and the path calculated?"

Thayne nodded a curt bow. "Yes, Father."

Obi began to lead them around the garden again, pointing now and again at a flower, or looking off into the distance. His words were very different, however. "Dane, this is Thayne. Ah,... you rhyme. ...Can you get to the stables at night without being seen? Can you saddle your own horse? And what is the best time for us to leave tonight?"

Dane did his best to imitate Obi. "Ah, yes, I can do both. Father retires at eleven to his room and his bed at midnight. It's best to wait until an hour later, when the rest of the staff have also retired."

"Will he sit up later or set an additional watch because a stranger has come?" That was already late enough, he really hoped it wouldn't be much more.

Dane pondered that. "If he must sit up to entertain you, he may, but if he's found a distraction for you he won't."

Obi smiled, not a very nice smile. "I've already requested the distraction."

Dane looked at him, his eyes wide. "A...are you really sure?"

"You have a 'Sister' here that needs to come with us as well. It was a convenient way to assure she could be brought out easily. Please, will you assist me with that?"

"Who are you looking for?"

"Freida of Salisbury."

Dane went white.

"Is there a problem?" Obi was concerned. Last minute problems were not his thing for already difficult jobs.

"Ah...ah...well, perhaps. ...Father knows I favor her, and has been being harsh with her. If you pick her, Father will not likely hesitate to let you have her if it looks like it will be hard on me...it's just… Well, you seem to know what you're doing. I'll play along appropriately, and help if I can."

"Really, Dane, if it's something that could endanger us all I need to know to plan how to get us through it."

Dane went as red as he had been white. "I'm afraid...the last time Father was away from the house...I was rather indiscreet. … Freida is pregnant," he said the last in a rush. "I have refused to admit it to Father, that it was me, because that would only cause more problems for Freida," Obi closed his eyes, _Give me patience for young lords and their indiscretions, and help the servants of the same…._ "...but Father suspects all the same."

"Have you ever considered that he's being hard on her because you won't acknowledge her? That if you would just do it, he wouldn't have to keep testing to see how far he has to take it before you break? That her life would be easier if you'd just own up to it?"

Dane looked at him like he was crazy. "You don't know my father."

"Yeah, that's what they all say. Every last lordling that gets a servant girl pregnant that he likes." Obi put his hand over his eyes. "So, tell me, Dane, why are you one of Mother's Children? Why are you worth risking my life and Thayne's life?"

He looked back at Dane, who was looking very crestfallen and punished. Obi really hadn't seen or heard anything yet to explain why there were problems at this place, or why these people needed to come out. Dane was almost too young to have been a participant in those early antics of the Earl. Dane finally went even redder. He clenched his fist. Then looking into Obi's eyes defiantly, he said, "Freida was my nurse when I was a child, and was the one Father sought comfort with when mother died. He liked her first, as far as needing a replacement woman went. But she was mine from the beginning!"

Obi held up his hand, his eyes very hard. "You're digging your grave even deeper, Dane." Dane stood there with his mouth open in shock. "If you cannot answer appropriately for yourself, I will speak with Freida after dinner tonight and then decide if I will take you away from here or not."

The youthfulness of Dane's face left him and his eyes became as hard as Obi's. "Did you think I would leave with you, with someone who would play with a woman, who would stoop to being self-important?"

Obi stopped and considered. It was true, that when looked at from Dane's perspective, Obi would have had to be tested, and tested hard, given the persona he'd picked. Just because he'd been told Obi was 'Father' and 'Mother' trusted him, didn't mean squat when it came time to actually act on it. "No," Obi admitted. "That was wrong of me. I've picked a part to play, not knowing what I was walking into, but it wasn't a fair part to play in front of you."

"You really don't know what is going on here?" Dane asked.

Obi shook his head. "All I received from Mother was a list of names, where to pick them up from, and the instructions of what to hear and what to say. That was it."

Dane looked at him, just a little flummoxed. "Well...that just isn't fair, is it?" he finally said. "That could get you into quite a lot of trouble."

"You think?" Obi asked sarcastically, though not angrily. "This is the first difficult one for me, and only my fifth to pick up."

"I'm only the fifth?" Obi nodded. "Well. Well, well." Dane seemed pleased by that for some reason.

"If at all possible, I'd like to move along as soon as we can. After you two, there are still four more to go...this round."

"How many more rounds after this one?"

"Two."

"Well, next time, just walk in as you every time. It will make your life easier."

"I knew I'd have to face your father."

Dane looked confused for a minute. "The steward would have gotten you in just fine. You didn't have to face the Earl at all, if you hadn't wanted to."

"Eh?!"

"Ah, right. You don't know. Mother has more than one, or two in our case, Children in each place. We network across all of Wilant, and further. It's just a select few of us who've been told to go with Father. Just knock on the door. Everyone in the Family will recognize you as part of the Family, even if they don't recognize you as Father, or if they aren't supposed to go with you."

Obi sank down to the ground in a crouch and put his hands over his face. He couldn't decide if he was going to kill Ilena or Master first.

"Yeah, it's true _most_ of the time," Thayne corrected Dane, "But in my case he needed to use strategy to get me out of my Viscount's house, and we've just come from that. We were just lucky to run into each other on the road, or it would have been as difficult as he was expecting it to be here."

"Hmm...well I suppose that could be the case," Dane understood. "But you could just go twice then. Once as just you to see if you can get in, then go back as someone else if you can't. Most often, it will just be that easy. On the rare cases it's not, then do it the hard way."

Thayne nodded. "That would work. It's not like it supposed to be hard, after all."

They both grinned down at him. He changed his mind, he'd kill these two first. "So, smart alecks, how do I get out of this one." He crossed his arms over his knees.

"Hmm...," Dane considered. "You want to get all of us out of here as soon as possible, right?" Obi nodded. "If you didn't care about the two of you, you could just spend the night and leave in the morning, just as you've already told Father you would, though you'd have to keep playing sop." His eyes glittered, saying it would be a price Dane thought he should have to pay. "But if you want to leave sooner, just find an excuse and leave whenever. Now that we know you've come, we'll just meet up with you wherever you want us to."

Obi stood up and shook his head. "No can do. First off, Freida's not official yet, and second, it's my duty to see you're all protected. I'm not comfortable with having my eyes off you too long."

"What about the rest? They aren't with you right now." Dane was dubious.

"It's not that. Until I've seen with my own eyes and felt it for myself, that the Children are safely away, I can't let it go."

Dane looked at him closely, then glanced at Thayne, who smiled back his big smile and asked, "Father's just like Mother, no?"

Dane nodded slowly. "It looks like it might be so. ...Well, then, if that's the case, eat dinner with Father, or not, whichever you want. I'll ask the steward to say a message came recalling you to the castle immediately. That gives you the excuse to leave. I'll have Freida meet you on the way back in now. Circle back round behind the stables and wait for us to come out, or wait on the road just out of eyesight of the house. I'll get us out of the house - just after dinner is easiest. We've been setting that up for ages now. No one will think anything of it."

Obi sighed. Dinner would be good, most likely. But he'd have to play the sop...or he could fess up to the Earl, too. "What's your father like?"

"Exactly what he looks like. Mother doesn't want me because of what's going on around here."

"Is he loyal?"

"He plays the game, but he's loyal for the most part."

"Right. Dinner then so we don't have to leave hungry and eat garrison left-overs." Both other men grinned. "And, you don't have to have the steward lie for me."

Dane raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Freida's this way."

They walked to the laundry part of the back of the house. The laundry maids were collecting the clothes that had been hung to dry during the day. They called greetings to Dane and looked at the strangers curiously, but were courteous. Dane walked up to a little patio just near the door and to an old woman in a chair. "Freida, there is someone here would like to say hello." He said it kindly but loudly. Obi took that to mean she was going deaf. He felt his heart freeze. His little play really would have gone very badly. The Earl would have laughed his head off if Obi had asked to have this venerable lady for the night.

Freida looked around. Obi walked up close to her, in case she was also going blind. "Are you Freida of Salisbury?" he tried to be about as loud as Dane had been.

She looked up at him, "What a good looking young man. Have I seen you before?"

Dane touched her shoulder, "Yes, you have Freida. Do you remember what you're supposed to tell him?"

"Oh, you're that young man! Ah, yes...it was...I am waiting to hear the words of Father." Good she wasn't so forgetful yet, but they might be picking her up just barely in time, it looked like.

He bowed to her. "Mother has sent me for you. If you're still willing to come, we'll leave after dinner. I'm sorry to make you ride into the night."

"That's all right, deary. We do it every evening, don't we Dane?"

"Yes, Freida, indeed we do. I'll ask June to help you get ready this time, though, since we won't be coming back for a long time."

"Okay." She reached up and squeezed his hand. "It's nice to meet you again," she said to Obi.

"Likewise," Obi said bowing again, and Dane led them into the house, stopping in the first room to speak briefly with a younger woman about getting Freida prepared for the trip.

In the hall, Obi stopped Dane. "Okay, you seem willing to tell me things I need to know. How is it that all of you recognize me? Even Freida says she was happy to 'see me again', when I don't ever recall seeing her before."

"Mother hasn't told you that yet either?" Obi shook his head. Dane and Thayne looked at each other. They both shook their heads. "Nope. We'll let her tell you. If she hasn't told you yet, it's something she wants to tell you."

"And did she want to tell me about how to find all of you, really? Or just give me a hard time?"

"Ah, that... Well I can't say. Was she going to?"

"For a price. Master wouldn't pay it."

"Well...that would be his fault then, wouldn't it? Her price is always worth paying."

Obi thought about that. It was possible that she was testing Master, and that he'd failed it, or at least was going to learn the lesson, because he, Obi, was going to tell him off for it. "Well, would it be best to come clean to your father now, or as we go into dinner?"

"As we go into dinner. Interrupting his work will make him less willing to listen, but they're about the same time anyway. I was taking us to the dining hall."

"Okay," Obi ran through what his apology was going to be. He hoped to be forgiven. He was getting hungry and the really nice wine from earlier was a hopeful expectation of what was to come.

-o-o-o-

Earl Malkin walked up to Obi and Dane, who were waiting outside the dining room. Thayne was still standing guard nearby. Obi had told him they'd not go too far from what they'd already started, so to stick to guard duty.

"Did you enjoy the tour of the house and grounds?" The earl asked Obi.

"I did, thank you very much," Obi said sincerely. He'd dropped the facade of a spoiled sop. Earl Malkin looked at him directly, wondering what was going on, most likely. "Your son Dane, is a very fine man."

"Thank you, I like to think so," the earl had just a little crinkle at the edges of his eyes.

 _I wonder how much of the conversation in the garden he was watching?_ Obi wondered. He took a breath. "Earl Malkin, I am not Lord Oxley, however I would appreciate it if you would continue to use that name for me at this time. I am a messenger of the Regent, as I've said, however, and will produce for you my token if you desire to see it for yourself. I'm also a Knight to the Second Prince." He bowed. "I apologize for testing you today and arriving without prior warning."

"Hooh? It seems a bit early to be giving up on the testing, if that's what it was?" the earl didn't choose to become angry, at least not yet.

"Your son has been very convincing in your stead. It isn't necessary to continue to do so at this time. Nor is it necessary for me to impose upon your hospitality for the night."

"Mmm...and what is it you wish to do, then?" the earl wasn't buying that it was a hit and run visit.

"I'll be imposing on you for the persons of your son, Dane, and your householder Freida. I've been sent to fetch them on behalf of Regent Zen." Both Dane and Thayne reacted to him just saying it outright.

"Hmm...and just when would you like to be taking them away?" the earl narrowed his eyes.

"I am sure it's an imposition, but no later than directly after dinner this night." Obi didn't flinch, though he did feel somewhat bad. He'd had to be like this for Master before.

"Haah…," Earl Malkin turned to Dane. "Is this okay?"

Dane bowed slightly, "Yes, Father." He looked at his father with a little smile playing on his face.

"Are you prepared?" Dane nodded. Earl Malkin turned back to Obi. "Very well. They'll go with you after the dinner meal. You may join us if you like."

Obi bowed again, "Thank you very much. In truth, I should very much like to have a meal at your table rather than yet another one at a barracks."

Earl Malkin smiled. "Indeed. They should really only be stomached when they must be. You're man here may eat in the kitchen with the other servants, if you wish."

"Thank you very much," Obi said for him and Thayne bowed in thanks.

"If you would please," the earl motioned for the younger men to go before him into the dining hall and they all entered.

After they were seated and had begun to eat what was indeed a delicious meal, though not so grand as to be wasteful, the earl casually said to Obi, "Miss Ilena has always been a welcome guest here. Is she well?"

Obi's fork paused on its way to his mouth briefly, then continued. Obi used the chewing time to figure out what to say. "You are aware that at last news, she'd been caught in a landslide that killed Earl College's Lady wife and all her attendants?" He looked at both men, wondering just what it was they did know if they knew Ilena directly, and thought he knew her.

They glanced at each other, then the earl said carefully, "Yes, we had heard that. Very sad news indeed."

Obi left it at that for a moment while he ate another bite of his meal. Dane fidgeting briefly and the earl looked at him forcefully from the corner of his eye. "You're also aware that if she is alive at this time, her life is in danger?"

Dane looked depressed, but the earl said smoothly. "It would certainly be an imposition to press further, then. Perhaps later you may be able to tell us more about what has happened in the case."

"Perhaps. Though it might be possible to understand it yourself should you be able to come to the castle again. After all, the Regent must present any evidence of foul play to the House of Lords, if there is any to be had."

"Mmm, indeed," the earl agreed, eating another bite from his plate, seemingly satisfied.

It looked like Dane decided to trust his father. He ate another bite as well, and the conversation turned to sundry light topics for the remainder of the meal.

After the meal, the earl, followed by the steward, lead them and Thayne out to the front courtyard where the servants had their horses saddled and readied. There was also a carriage. Freida was waiting beside it with a maid. They said their goodbyes to the earl, Freida thanking him for taking care of her, and entered the carriage. Obi and Thayne thanked him for the meal and Obi apologized again for the short notice, and they mounted their horses. Then Dane said his farewells to his father and climbed up into the driver's seat of the carriage. He smiled down at Obi's surprised expression. "This is just what Freida and I have been doing each night for quite some time. This time we'll be going a little farther, is all."

Obi nodded. "Farewell, Earl Malkin. Until we meet again."

The earl lifted his hand in farewell and the little group left the Earldom of Salisbury, stopping to pick up the bag of clothes on the way.

Having to go at the carriage's speed, though Dane did take it as fast as he dared for the older woman's bones, it took until nearly midnight to reach the barracks. While that was late, it was earlier than Obi had hoped of ever reaching it under his original plan. The late-comers were given rooms and quickly went to bed. Obi lay awake until he had the outline of a plan for continuing on, then also slipped into sleep.

In the morning, they all gathered to breakfast at one of the tables in the barrack's dining hall. Everyone introducing themselves all around again, except Obi, who prefered to just let everyone pretend he was still just "Father". He was thinking about Ilena's comment to him the night before he left. _Be gentle with them. Most of them are very afraid_. Well, he hadn't come across anyone who was afraid. Willing to be cautious, but not afraid. They had to cross north of Earl College's lands next. He need to know how they felt about that. He always felt _his_ nerves tighten up for that stretch. It had been the only thing about coming north he had disliked. They could stop at Osterly garrison at a reasonable hour in the evening and continue on the next day, or continue into the night and make it to Wilant castle town in one long, late night again, stretch. He'd decided to put it to a vote. He didn't really need to push them all hard, and he'd felt bad about pushing Freida hard last night, though she'd fallen asleep in the carriage. He just personally felt some inner push to get everyone 'home' safely.

After he had explained this to everyone following breakfast, they thought about it some, then voiced their opinions. Dane was first. "While it's kind of you to think of Freida, she'll sleep in the carriage whenever she feels like sleeping. As long as I can stay awake to drive it we could continue all the way on to the southern coast and she wouldn't mind. I can do either plan."

Elandra smiled at Obi invitingly. "The longer we can make it the better for me, but that's because I want to keep trying to get you for myself."

"Next," Obi said. Elandra pouted. Obi ignored the pout.

Foster said, "I personally don't care either way, but Thom may be hard to handle if it's a full day and most of a night again. He was in pretty bad shape when we got here in the late evening yesterday." Sallie nodded agreement. Obi looked at Peter. He shrugged. He'd go with Foster and Sallie.

Thayne smiled. "I'll ride with you wherever and whenever you want to go."

Obi nodded a thanks at the underlying sentiment. "Haah. You guys aren't making this easy, are you?" He thought about it for a moment, then suddenly came to a strange realization. Even if his brother had seen any of these people before, he wouldn't remember them, except maybe the tall forester. Perhaps the more pressing problem would be if they all went to the garrison, like he'd originally been planning. It would be stranger than if they all met up again at the small inn at the village. He should probably not be seen with them, though, since the Earl's men knew he'd been with Ilena. _Haah, what a problem. Well, one thing at a time then_.

"Dane, get you and Freida and the maid on the road as soon as you can. You're the slowest. When you go to the castle, who do you usually stay with in Osterly?"

"If it's a formal visit, the village head, but that's rare. Usually it's the inn."

"Go there, then, and stay the night. The next morning get started towards the castle town. I'll tell you where we're going after we catch up to you that morning. I'll settle with the inn when I get to Osterly."

Dane nodded. "Okay, Father," he winked.

"Foster, you'll take the same group as yesterday and do the same. Stay over in Osterly at the inn. I'll let you know where you'll end up when I meet up with you." Foster nodded and Sallie looked relieved that Thom would have a little bit of a reprieve. Elandra pouted again.

"Elandra, you're rearguard for Foster. Pay attention to the road, especially that section of narrow road Mother was ambushed at. If you think there's an ambush being prepared there again, go take out whoever is putting it together."

Elandra lit up. Work! That was more like it.

Obi looked at Thayne. He wanted to take him with... "Dane, I'm going to assign an honor guard for you and the carriage. It's unlikely you'll actually need it, but having a deterrent in place will make me feel better." Dane nodded. "Thayne, you'll come with me, if you think you can ride as long as I can?"

Thayne crossed his arms and grinned, "Shall we make it a bet or a race?"

Obi laughed. "Neither, now that you've offered. Oh, Dane, you've been to Wilant City before, haven't you?" Dane nodded. "Then where do I go to most easily acquire the rest of the Children?"

Dane grinned. "You're learning. There are about five inns and taverns you can go to and any of them will get them for you."

"The closest to North Road."

"Hmm...That would be the Black Cat. ...I hear it was named after you."

"You're teasing me."

Dane's eyes were smiling. "Maybe, maybe not."

Obi decided to not follow that thread. "Does the inn at Osterly have one of Mother's Children in residence?"

"Yes," this time it was Elandra who answered. "Ask for Misty."

"Thank you, Elandra."

"Glad to be of help!" she said cheerfully.

"Any questions or concerns?" There were none. "Then, if you make it to the Black Cat before I see you again, stop there, okay?" Foster and Dane nodded. "Get yourselves going, then. Be safe and protect yourselves. I don't wish to be badly scolded for leaving you on your own. Ah, but just to be sure, by a show of hands, who is just putting on a front and is actually really terrified inside but refusing to let me know. Because that would make me upset."

Everyone looked at each other, then Peter stood up hesitantly. He bowed to Obi. "Father, I think we wish you to understand that because of the strength of Mother, we've all been able to find our own strengths. Even though I'm the weakest here, besides the very young and very old, even I've found strengths I didn't know I had because Mother helped me see them, and every day that I remember her, I find more strength. Also, we discussed it earlier...in your own way you also give us strength. You're providing for us, though I can only imagine it, what a good father would provide. We'll surely be fine. You may do what you need to do."

"Besides," Elandra leaned on her elbows, "we can all tell that you're really just in a hurry to get back to Mother. That's fine by us, too." She grinned a wicked teasing grin.

"But," interjected Dane quickly, "it would really help us if you'd let us know what her status is. We may not be afraid to travel, but we are very worried about her."

Obi looked at them all. He really wanted to tell them, because for some reason they were starting to feel like family, and family would definitely want to know. "Master won't let it me say it yet. When we arrive at the place prepared for you that will be your home and your place of protective custody until the matter is settled, then I may tell you." They had to be content with that.


	10. The Black Cat Inn

_Are you enjoying Obi's time out as much as he is? Wasn't that a fun turn, that last chapter? He learns more interesting things in this chapter._

 _I was catching up on mangas today. My all-time favorite, that I started with, was From Far Away (Kyoko Hikawa). Absolute awesomeness. Everything I could want - sci-fi, fantasy, romance, politics, drama, action-adventure. Izark is gorgeous and his demon form is sooo exactly what it should be - black with blue hair and sapphire eyes. I would so be Noriko in a heart beat. The only thing I would have required is a formal wedding by the mayor at the desert town before everyone split up. Hikawa-san really should have put that in the manga. Really. Two pages is all it would have taken._

 _My top current running favs are Yona of the Dawn, Akagame no Shirayukihime (of course), and The Heroic Legends of Arsalan. (I like a lot of others, too.) My favorite light novel is Log Horizon, though I started with the anime. I've got all the books on the shelf of the three published ones for when the internet goes down. Really wish they'd publish Yona of the Dawn and Shirayuki in English so I could put them on my shelf, too. And make an anime of From Far Away - that would be sooo awesome!_

 _Well, please enjoy this next chapter! (_ _Is it okay that I just love my version of Obi? *sigh* )_

 _(And I'm so glad my kids refuse to read this. I can just hear the "Mo-ommm" and see the roll of the eyes.)_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10 The Black Cat Inn**

Obi led Thayne to the garrison captain's office. There, he requisitioned an honor guard of four guards to go to the Osterly garrison with Dane and the carriage, warning them of the place that was perfect for ambushes. He also wrote a requisition for the same from the Osterly garrison so the guards from this garrison could give that to them and be substituted out and return rather than continue on to Wilant City. Then he requested that the horse and wagon he had borrowed be returned and requisitioned a horse and wagon from the garrison for Foster's group.

He took the time to pen a note to Zen. He asked that it be sent by bird, if possible. It was like most of his notes - it took forever to figure out what to say, and then said it too briefly. It went something like, _I almost lost two witnesses for not understanding the easiness of my job_. It was meant to carry the weight of a lot of frustration and be very scolding. Zen didn't quite get that until he got Obi's direct report later.

Once those chores were done, Obi and Thayne got on the road. They made it to Osterly shortly after lunch. Obi decided to eat at the inn, that way he could get everything done at once, even though it would take additional time. They were seated, and a young woman brought them the midday meal.

"Would Misty be available for a minute?" Obi asked pleasantly, as his plate was set down in front of him.

The waitress winked. "That'd be me. You've got me for 30 seconds."

"Two groups of Children are arriving here tonight. I need to cover their costs for the night - dinner, beds, breakfast. I don't want my money covering the wrong people, but you I'd trust to get it right. One room with four beds, two rooms with two beds each. How much do I leave with you?"

She named a price and Obi fished it out plus their lunch fee. While waiting, she asked, "How do I recognize them?"

Obi raised an eyebrow. Thayne smoothly cut in, "Roses and a thorn. The hare and the tree."

Misty nodded, took Obi's money and moved on to the next customer. As the men dug into their food, Obi said, "That was cryptic."

"Mmm," agreed Thayne around his mouthful, but he wouldn't elaborate.

Obi sighed. "Am I going to have to take you everywhere with me in order to translate?"

Thayne looked thoughtful. "Yup."

"Whhyyy?"

Thayne tried to put it into words that would be understandable but not offensive. "What is Mother to you at this point?"

That was still a dangerous question for Obi and these folks, as far as Obi was concerned. When he couldn't answer right away, Thayne said, "That's why. It'll come with time we figure. Mother does, too, so don't worry. When the time's right, you'll learn it all. In the meantime you need a translator."

Obi was quiet, then nodded. It did make sense. As much trust as he was willing to give was what he was going to get. Everyone seemed to know pretty well what their boundaries were - what they could say and what they couldn't. Compared with the underworld organizations he was acquainted with, this one was pretty sophisticated and well ordered, what little he'd brushed against anyway. It didn't have the dark overtones, though. More like light overtones instead.

As soon as they were done with lunch, they were on the road again. They made it to Wilant City just an hour or so after sunset. Obi did his best to find the Black Cat. They asked what folks were on the road and got pointed to the right area, but then they had to hunt. He finally picked one that looked right by the sign and they went in.

Thayne immediately said, "This isn't right."

"Oh?" Obi couldn't tell, of course, but there were some unsavory characters in the place that made his senses go on alert as soon as they walked in. "Mind if I experiment?"

Thayne shook his head. "Do we get to let off steam if I'm right?"

Obi shook his head. "We're on business." Thayne shrugged. Obi walked up to the closest barmaid. "I'm looking for some people."

"Who ain't honey?" she said disinterestedly.

"Could you perhaps tell me if you know them?"

She glanced up at him, irritated with the interruption of her work. "Who wants to know and why should I?"

"Well, thanks for your time anyway," Obi said, and turned to walk out.

A man that had been leaning against the wall near the door stood and addressed him as he neared the door. "No, really, we want to know." His voice was soft and almost sibilant.

Obi raised his hands and smiled disarmingly. "It really is nothing. I've been looking for my sister and brother-in-law, but I can't remember which establishment they said to meet them in. I'll just keep looking on down the road. ...If you could let us pass?"

The man looked at him a little longer, then moved out of his way and returned to the wall. "Good luck," he sneered as they walked out.

"Well, that went better than I thought," Thayne said. "You really are very good. That's why I wanted to come. You're a lot of fun to watch."

Obi looked at him. "You're not bad yourself. You handled yourself much better at Dane's than I expected."

Thayne looked at him, then smiled and said "thanks!" but Obi felt it covered something more significant. At the same level as the cryptic way they had of recognizing each other.

A young lad, making Obi think of a castle page, came running up to them. "Mister, mister! You missed it. It's over there!" He turned and pointed at a larger establishment that was well lit several buildings back.

"Thanks!" said Thayne to the lad and he ran off again.

Obi watched after him. "Another one?" Thayne nodded once. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot more of them more often?"

Thayne grinned. "Because Mother's finally taken your blinders off?"

Obi wasn't sure whether to be surprised or irritated. Thayne slapped him on the back. "Cheer up. You've just been told where you want to go."

Obi looked at it as they walked up. "Did we miss it because I wasn't looking for a two-story family place?"

"Yup. You still see with eyes of darkness, so you still seek that first." Obi filed that comment away for further study later.

They entered and Obi could feel the difference. If knowing what kind of an establishment one of Ilena's Children was running was based on feel, it would be obvious to Obi now. This one felt inviting and comfortable. It was still noisy, and crowded, but there was laughter and life here. Barely before he had time to scan the room, a young girl ran up and grabbed his hand. "Hey! Welcome! Come in, come in. We've got a place for you two right over here!" She pulled him over to a table centered on the fireplace, but not so close it was hot. He noticed she didn't pull hard enough to put him off balance, just enough to direct him. As she seated him, he nodded his thanks. "Dinner?"

"Sure, and drinks for the two of us."

"Okay!" and she was off.

He looked around. Thayne was having a hard time not laughing. Pretty quick Obi could tell why. He caught the eyes of several other young people looking at him. "She beat them to it, eh?"

Thayne grinned, "Yup."

"I also notice she seated us at the throne table."

"Is that what you'd call it?" Thayne asked innocently.

Obi glared at him through slitted eyes.

Thayne laughed again. "But not everyone here recognizes you."

"No, but I'd bet everyone knows about me."

Thayne looked around. "No. There are lots of other good people who like to come to establishments like this. It's my first time here in Wilant City, but I've been to Lyrias and there are several there, too. You've probably been in them."

Obi thought about it. He probably had. This was the kind of place he looked for to take Mistress to. _Ah!_ That had felt like an important clue to understanding Ilena. Ilena's Children liked to create spaces for others that even Mistress would thrive in. So, could Ilena make a space for Mistress to thrive in? Is that what she was trying to do? Like with teaching her how to be strong in a scary situation, just like what Peter had said. They'd been frightened until Mother had taught them to be strong. He'd seen that very thing in practice himself by the person herself. He had a very strange feeling in his stomach. Like something tight was trying to unravel. Like the light of this place was trying to reach through the darkness that surrounded him. ...Hadn't he dreamed about something like that recently?

Obi's thoughts were interrupted by a mug and plate being set down in front of him. Another one went in front of Thayne. "There you are! Enjoy! Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes," said Obi absently. Their waitress waited, her head cocked to see what was next, but he was still trying to return to the room from the thoughts in his head so it took a bit. "Ah. Pages. Runners. Got a couple in the room?" If he was going to be set on the throne by them, he'd act the part for now.

"Marcus! Henry! You're needed over here!" she called out, then said, "Let me know if you need anything else. The name's Mary."

"Thanks, Mary," Obi said. He eyed the two young men up and down as they arrived and waited in front of him. They were the eager types, but for some reason, they looked a little...grey? Like not quite as much light. "Marcus?"

The sturdy youth with wild hair raised his hand. "That's me!"

Obi looked at the other youth, taller with serious eyes but a youthful smile. "Then you'd be Henry."

"Yup."

He listed off the four remaining names. "Go get them. Have them here by the time I'm done eating, if you can. Let them know they're going on a trip and to say their goodbyes before they come."

Both boy's eyes went round. "Yes, sir!" They looked at each other significantly, then were off.

"Not going to go find them yourself?" Thayne asked.

"Why? It's always faster to let runners do it. City or castle. Plus they speak both my lingo and yours so they're just as good at translating as you. Besides," Obi looked at him curiously, resting on one arm, "aren't you tired of running? We've been on the road all day. I'm perfectly content to sit and enjoy my mug. ...Even if I have to be on display while I do it."

Thayne's eyes smiled at Obi as he took a drink. "Absolutely a natural, aren't you?" he teased as he set his mug down.

Obi blushed just faintly. "No. Hate to be the center of attention, but I've been around Master too long. He's rubbed off."

"Well, that's alright then," Thayne said approvingly. "We like him, too."

 _Well, really. What interesting things I'm learning tonight_. "Will you call Mary back over, please?"

"What? She'd love it if you did it."

"I'm thinking."

Sigh. "All right. Can't think and talk at the same time," Thayne muttered. Obi ignored him. "Mary!" Thayne called and waved her over.

She came as soon as she got freed up. "Yes?"

"Rooms?" Obi asked.

"Yup, upstairs. How many?"

"Three two beds. One night, breakfast early. How much?"

She named a price. "Payable when you leave."

That surprised Obi. "When we leave?"

"Yup. Just for you, of course."

"No it's not, Mary. Speak truths." An older woman had walked up behind her. "I'm Cathy. My husband and I run this place. He's head cook, so he can't come greet you just yet. Mind if I sit for a moment?"

Mary ran off to another table that was calling for her and Obi waved Cathy to take a seat.

"You'll take them tonight and have them sleep here rather than at their homes?" Cathy came straight to the point of her concern.

"I'd take them straight from here when they get here if I could." Obi answered. "As it is, I want to leave as early as possible in the morning. If I have to have them all collected then, it will run us late."

"He takes his responsibility very seriously," Thayne explained to Cathy. "We're okay with it."

"We're? You too?" she looked at him curiously as he nodded.

"I'm his translator," Thayne said with a smile.

"And companion," Obi said absently, his mind still working on other things. He missed the look of surprise they gave him. Thayne smiled gently.

"He's like that, huh?" Cathy said quietly to Thayne.

He turned the same smile on her. "Yes," he said just as softly. "I think it's going to be just fine."

She searched his face, then smiled. "That's good, then." She stood up, "Well, enjoy your evening, then, good sirs."

"Thanks!" they both said.

After a bit, Obi returned to full alertness again. He looked at Thayne without moving his head. "What's going to be 'just fine'?"

"Ah, you heard that did you?" Thayne smiled a private smile.

Obi sighed. He knew a sidestep when he heard one. He let it drop. "Speak truths, huh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're doing heaving thinking tonight. Does it usually follow heaving drinking?"

"I haven't had any more than you, and I don't get drunk."

"Really?"

"Really. I've tried. I can get sick after a while, but that's because the stomach can only hold so much liquid. You know, like eating too much dinner kind of sick."

"Now you're boasting."

"You're the one that said it." After a pregnant pause, Obi grinned. "I really do like having you around. After you're let out, come find me. We'll do this again."

"I'd like that, Father." Thayne said respectfully. He turned his head away and looked towards the door, which opened right at that moment. He watched a man walk in, then his eyes went wide. "Father," he said urgently, "Look at that man." Obi looked up and into the eyes of the man who'd just walked in. Black hair like his own but long like Ilena's, a slightly dark complexion, like he could also be a distant relative. Lithe and well muscled, with a small, kind smile he was now turning on several of the young folk who'd come running up to greet him. The eyes for just that instant had measured him, then had carefully disengaged to feign disinterest and distraction. It almost felt to Obi as if he'd looked into the face of a prince. For some reason, Obi felt electric. "Remember his face," Thayne said. "You'll see it again."

His thoughts were interrupted as the door opened once again and an older middle aged man walked in. He looked around the room, saw Obi, and immediately strode towards them. Obi quickly glanced around for the first man and saw he'd been seated where he could surreptitiously watch. Obi also noticed he was just close enough to overhear what was said at the table if it wasn't whispered. Whoever he was, he wanted to know what 'Father' was going to do about collecting people tonight. And maybe who. The list was important. Obi all of a sudden regretted having them come here. It made it too obvious which list he was on. Then he shrugged. Thayne had recognized the man and not said "run". No one else in the room felt off. He suspected true outsiders were uncomfortable here, and if they tried to stay were made unwelcome. It was okay with him if the Family knew what was happening, if it was in bits and pieces.

The older man had reached his table and was standing in front of him, holding a hat in his hands. Obi looked up at him and welcomed him, "Thank you for coming straight away."

The man nodded. "I'm Robert of Pence."

"Robert of Pence?"

"I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

Obi smiled gently at him. "Mother has sent me for you. Please have a seat," He indicated the seat on the other side of him from Thayne. "Do you have family?" The man shook his head. "Have you had dinner?"

"Ah, yes…."

Obi eyed him. "Mary!"

"Coming!"

In a few minutes, Mary showed up with another plate and mug and set them down in front of Robert. "Here you go!" Then she was off again.

"Eey!" Obi called at her back. "I need a refill!"

"I'll get it!" she called over her shoulder.

But another mug was set thunked down in front of him before she'd finished with the table she was on. "I got it, Mary," another young voice called out from behind Obi.

He looked behind him. "Thanks!"

"No problem." The youngster was already heading away.

That had given Robert enough time to get started on his dinner. He ate as if he hadn't really eaten. Obi leaned on his hand and said to him, "It's hard for us bachelors to get decent meals, isn't it. I mean, who has the time to work, market, make it, then finally eat it just to clean it up. It's more of a hassle. I usually just grab a quick snack from the market and call it good, which of course isn't good for one's health, really."

Robert looked up at him, startled, then shyly nodded. "Yeah. I guess that couldn't really be called dinner, eh?"

"Well, it's certainly not as good a dinner as this one," Obi agreed.

"I'll let the chef know you said that," said Mary as she dropped three more mugs on the table and whooshed away again.

"No competing!" called out Thayne.

A chorus of "Awww!'s" rang out.

"Thanks," said Obi quietly. He agreed. It was fun, but that would get out of hand. "Are you ready to go?" Obi asked Robert.

The eating man nodded. "Been ready a while."

"Good. When you're ready to call it a night, get a key. You'll be joined in the room by one more tonight, so be expecting that. We leave at daybreak. Eat breakfast before that. Do you have transportation?"

Robert shook his head. Obi had been expecting that. It was one of the things he'd been pondering earlier. It wasn't likely that any of the town Children had long distance transportation of their own. They should be used to walking. If he could get them out of here early enough, they should be able to meet up with the wagon at about the right place. If anyone needed to, they could share the carriage, too. It wasn't that Obi, or Zen for that matter, was stingy. It was just Obi's way to be as practical with the finances and creative with the solutions as possible.

The door opened again. This time it looked like a husband-wife pair. They were greying, but still had youth and strength in them. She was carrying a sewing basket, and he had a full knapsack on his back. Obi smiled at them as they came towards him. Somehow they seemed like the kind of people grown kids would love coming home to.

They reached the table. "I'm Roy of Wilant," the man said. "I'm Betty of Wilant," the woman said. Obi knew instinctively they'd been given aliases. That was a first.

"Roy of Wilant?"

"I am waiting to hear the words of Father," he said quietly.

"Mother has sent me for you. Betty of Wilant?"

"I am waiting to hear the words of Father," she said, also quietly, a slight quaver in her voice.

"Mother has sent me for you." Obi still couldn't help but make his voice gentle when he said those words. They somehow felt like they were an embrace from her to them, and they seemed to receive them the same way...all of them. Betty wiped her eyes. "Please sit."

Roy pulled out the last chair for Betty, moving it slightly around. She sat with the sewing box in her lap, and Roy borrowed a chair from the next table over that had one available, then removed his knapsack and sat, placing it between his feet.

"Are you ready?" Obi asked them. They both nodded. "Have you eaten dinner."

"Yes," Roy said looking gratefully at Betty.

Obi smiled. "You are a lucky man, then. We were just bemoaning the fate of bachelors who must fend for themselves at meal time."

"Yes, I am," Roy said as Betty blushed.

The door opened again. This time it was Henry and Marcus, each carrying a bag. They were shepherding a middle aged woman and three children who looked to be in the age range of eleven or twelve down to five or six. The woman said something to Henry and Marcus and they led the children to a corner table and sat with them. Cathy walked up to the woman and spoke with her a moment. The new woman took a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair. Then she relaxed and responded. Both women came to Obi's now full table.

"I see why you were concerned now, Cathy, but please remember for next time that I like to be made aware of such things as soon as possible so that I can decide on the best course of action to take earlier." His rebuke was gentle.

She flushed a bit. "I'm sorry. I'll remember it."

"But it isn't really your fault either," he said kindly. "I was only given one name and one city to look in. I'll complain to the person who gave me the information. Perhaps next time they'll be willing to expound so I can be more prepared, if it's possible." He looked at the last Child he was there to retrieve. "I apologize for the difficulty this is for you and your children at this time of night." She waved her hand, her cheeks rosy. "Rose of Lilith?"

She took a deep breath, looking like she was steeling herself. "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

"Mother has sent me for you." He looked at her trying to see deeply into her the way Ilena would. There was something holding her back. "What is it that's keeping you here?" She startled. "It's okay. I am not here to drag anyone away by force. If there's a thing I may help with I would like to know."

"Ah… It isn't a thing keeping me here, per se. More of a ...concern about where we're going."

Obi smiled. "Would it help if I told you it's a place in the countryside with plenty of room for children to run in? That there's already a four year old and two seventeen year olds, all boys, in our group?"

Thayn coughed and muttered under his breath, "One nineteen, one twenty-one."

"Sorry," Obi said without looking away from Rose. "As he said. And also a pair here who look like the best grandparents in the world and a great-grandmother." Roy and Betty flushed in pleasure of his praise. "I don't think you'll need to feel like a parent alone, caged in a small place any more in that place."

Rose couldn't help the tears dripping down her cheeks. Cathy put her arm around her and hugged her. After a bit, Rose recovered and wiped her face with a handkerchief. Obi guessed she had a lot of them tucked all over the place. Her two youngest were boys, the oldest was a girl. If anything the girl would be the most left out where they were going, but the older women would be able to help her, and they were only the first group. Who knew but other children, including girls, would come.

Rose took a stabilizing breath then said, "We're ready."

"Very well. Have you and the children eaten?"

"Yes."

"Cathy, if you could please rearrange the rooms? Robert can room with Thayne and I if you have any three bed rooms. Keep a two bed room for Roy and Betty. And change the other room to a four bed room."

Cathy bowed slightly. "Certainly. Rose, do you want me to have the boys take the kids up there now?"

Rose looked a little uncertain.

Obi asked, "Rose, can you have them up and breakfasted by first light in the morning? I would like for us to set out then."

She nodded. "I can do my best."

"That will do. You may retire with them now, if you wish."

"Thank you." She left with Cathy and they went to gather up the children, the runners going with them to take the bags.

Obi watched them go. "Thayne, we'll take one bag each on the horses tomorrow."

"Yes, Father."

He turned to the other couple and Robert. "You'll be walking for the first part of the day, but we'll be joining up with a wagon and carriage for the remainder of the journey. Do any of you have any difficulties with walking, or with that arrangement?" They all shook their heads. "Roy, Betty, do you understand the morning's schedule?" They nodded. "Then you may retire when you're ready."

Roy looked at Betty, then at Obi. "We would like to do that now, then." When Obi nodded consent, he rose and pulled out Betty's chair for her. They retrieved their things, bowed and followed the direction Cathy had gone with Rose and her group, Roy returning the extra chair to the table it had been sitting at originally on his way.

Robert drained his mug and set it above his empty plate. "Do I need to pay for dinner?" he asked. Obi shook his head 'no', in the middle of a drink himself. "Then I think I'll take myself off to bed also," he rose.

"Tell one of the runners - one of the boys that helped Rose's family upstairs - which room it is we should come to and leave the door unlocked for us, please." Obi requested.

"Of course," Robert touched the brim of his hat he'd put back on, then followed after the older couple.

Mary swept up and collected the empty plates and mugs. "Do you want any more to drink?"

"I'd like one more, please," Obi said.

"I'm good," Thayne smiled at her.

She smiled back and swept off to the kitchen.

"Hah." Obi put his chin on his hands. He wanted to put his head down on the table. He closed his eyes, then felt the princely man stand from his chair. Obi looked over at him tiredly. It had been a long day. The man was walking away from his table towards the door. He looked briefly over to Obi and saw Obi looking at him. He gave Obi a small, satisfied smile. Obi nodded a brief nod of acknowledgement. Then the man was out the door and into the night.

Thayne looked at Obi through lidded eyes. "Looks like you passed the test."

"What test? Wasn't it you lot that told me to just be myself?" He just couldn't keep in a yawn any more and let it out.

Thayne chuckled. "I think it's time I helped this doddering old man to bed."

"What doddering?" Obi said in mock offense. "And I see no 'old' here, unless it's in your beard."

Thayne stood, "Come on, old man."

Obi looked up at him. He didn't know it was with fondness again. "Actually, go on ahead. I'd like to just sit and be quiet for a bit before coming up." It was getting quiet in the dining room as most people had already returned to their houses to prepare for the next day, and that was what Obi needed, quiet. It had been very noisy these last several days.

"All right, but come up before you're sleeping on the table."

"I will, or Mary will pick me up and put me in the sink, thinking I'm a dirty dish to wash."

"Or in the bin, thinking you're a dirty cloth, more likely," Mary retorted as she set down his last mug.

"Whatever," he was too tired to banter any more. She smiled at him and left him alone, and Thayne went to find the room.

Obi sat thinking about how close the castle was to where he was, and who was in it. It wasn't an unusual pastime. He often thought about Master and Mistress when it was late and he was tired like this. Mitsuhide and Kiki, too, but this time, there was a new person he thought of as well. Ilena was in that castle now. Next to the four bright lights he saw there often in his mind, it seemed like her light was beginning to glow, too. If he'd been able to express that thought to those who'd seen him tonight, they would have explained that his light was also glowing brightly next to the others that he could see, a sixth as bright as any of the others.

Obi was interrupted by the arrival of the runners. "Sorry, sir, for disturbing you, but you're falling asleep and we've got to go home."

"Ah, I am aren't I."

"You're in room eight."

"Ah, wait a bit." They turned back. "I've been learning to see the light tonight, instead of just darkness. But...I noticed you two look like your light is dimmer than most that were here. Can you tell me why?"

They looked at each other trying to figure out what he meant. Then Henry of the serious eyes said, "It's that, isn't it, Marcus?" his face falling from pleasant to sad.

"Probably," Marcus answered, going from playful to serious. He looked back at Obi. "You're the only one who'd be able to answer to it, though."

"Oh?" Obi raised an eyebrow.

"It's Mother." Henry said, and Obi suddenly realized it was the same dimming of the light he'd seen but not recognized until now in Dane.

"I see. ...Those of you who feel particularly close to Mother are concerned about her. Because she's your source of light, and you don't know where to turn to find her, or if you even may, your own light is dimmed."

"Ah, yeah. That's an interesting way to put it, but it sounds about right." Henry agreed.

Obi rose, feeling heavy. "I appreciate your help today. I hope to see you again." He put four coins on the table and pushed them slightly towards them and looked them in the eyes sadly. "I'm sorry I can't enlighten you today. Master has sealed my lips. ...Good night." He turned and headed towards the door to the stairs. He could feel the boys looking after him, then they turned and left out the front door.

Obi fell into bed and slept soundly for the first half of his night.

He felt Ilena's young arms around him. She was comforting him again. The warmth from her caring heart filling him again. He pushed her away. She looked at him, hurt. Then she faded away and there was darkness around him. He cried out for her, but all that came to him was dark shadows and he was running with them up over a wall, into the yard of an enclosed manor. Fighting was erupting around him. Then a slashing pain in his chest. He looked down and there was blood on his hand and on his chest. He looked up and it was cold darkness around him. He looked down again, his hand feeling warm upon his chest. His chest was bandaged, his hand clean. _How? How had that happened?_ Then a hand was upon his chin, gently lifting it to make him look up. The eyes were brilliant blue. Master's eyes. The hair was bright red. Mistress' hair. The smile...warm...it leaned towards him and kissed him...warm...Ilena's warm. He wrapped his arms around the warm person, this person who represented all the ones he loved, and held on, feeling the begging feeling of wanting to be held in return. _Obi_. It echoed and he searched for the one who said it. _Obi. Love me. ...Love my Children_.

Obi faded awake from the dream. He lay there pondering it, replaying it. This Ilena. The early Ilena. His ache for Master that drove him to return again and again to his side. The joy of being with Mistress and the desire to touch her like one would touch a rose just to feel its softness. What feeling was it for Ilena? He remembered the kiss, the warmth of the body he hugged in the dream, the desire to be hugged in return. That ache. The ache of wanting to be held again by her. It had been so long. Ever so long. Always in his memory, his dreams, but withheld in reality. Could he be held again? Would it be allowed? He couldn't wish it, but the ache cried out for it.

Not like the ache he felt for Master, but similar. It was what he'd felt sitting by himself before coming to bed. That ache of wanting to be close to her, to be touching her. To be within reach of Master. To be within eyesight of Mistress. To follow after Master and Mistress closely. To stand next to Ilena, close, touching hands they way they had as children. Hands back to back, only middle fingers wrapped around each other, so that the household wouldn't know. Wouldn't know that Obi was grieving his Grandfather. That Ilena was grieving also, alone in the world except for her nurse and Wellesley. He shivered. That name made him feel so cold, but she'd said it.

She'd said _Obi_ when he'd asked her about her present feelings. Could he accept that? His ache cried out, but his mind remained firmly fixed, except for that growing light that was putting pressure on the darkness. Requesting, insisting that the darkness give in, that it be recognized. Maybe he couldn't accept her feelings, but he could accept the light. He had always been drawn to light. Her light back then. Master's light. Mistress' light. If Ilena's light now could be given full birth...he would accept that as well. With that thought, he relaxed and fell back into dreamless sleep.

-o-o-o-

"...er. Oi! Father!" Obi was being shaken awake. He moaned. "Are you always this hard to wake up? You're the one who wanted everyone up early." It was Thayne.

He stretched and Thayne moved away. "How do you usually wake up?" Thayne asked him, watching him sit up on the bed and scratch an itch.

Obi yawned and began his morning routine. "Miss Kiki threatens to slowly slip a knife through my ribs." He pulled on his boots. "Mr. Mitsuhide drops books on my head." He walked to the water and splashed his face and rubbed some through his hair. "Mistress threatens to come in," muffled through the towel. He paused, holding the towel. "On the bad days, she opens the door. That gives me a fright. Master would kill me." He set the towel down and shrugged on his jacket and buckled on his short sword Zen had given him when he'd been made Zen's personal knight. He looked at it for a moment, then led the way out the door. "But Master never wakes me up the way I keep hoping."

"And how's that," Thayne looked at him, curious.

"With kisses," Obi said "...but I've woken him up with threats of kisses before. Once I almost made it, but he lept out of bed so fast I couldn't. He was unkind and had his hand on his hilt, too." He looked hurt and sad.

Thayne shook his head. "You are a strange man."

"Oh?" Obi smiled at him. "Would you like to be woken with kisses next time?"

Thayne looked at him horrified. "No!"

"Haaa. Just like Master," Obi deflated.

They walked into the dining room. Everyone else was sitting at tables, finishing up breakfast. The kids were still sleepy, too.

"Morning," he said to everyone and walked up to the table with the kids. He yawned as he sat, then said to them, "Can I join you? If we put our heads down on the table like this…" he demonstrated, "we can sleep just a little longer, no?"

Thayne hit him on the head. "Oi! I said, this is your fault in the first place."

The littlest boy giggled and then covered his mouth with his hand. Obi winked at him and smiled ruefully, rubbing his head. "All right, all right. I'm up, Dad." The oldest girl finally smiled. A plate was set down in front of him.

"Hey, that's your job, not mine," Thayne protested.

"But every Father's got to have a dad," Obi pointed out around his first mouthful. Breakfast was good. It helped him wake up. "What are your names?" he asked the kids, still blinking sleepily.

"Boy!" piped up the youngest.

The oldest girl snorted at him. "It's not! You just get called that all the time." She had just the perfect 'boss' for an oldest girl who had to be mom all the time - because she chose to be, Obi guessed. "That's Micky. He's Mat," she pointed to the middle son. "I'm Millie."

"Millie. Mat. Micky." Obi nodded to each of them. "Nice to meet you. Are you ready for adventuring today?" Millie shrugged. Mat shook his head 'no'. Micky said brightly, "Yeah!" and kicked his feet under the table to accentuate his readiness. Obi looked at Mat and said conspiratorially in a loud whisper, "Tomorrow morning, let's hide under the bed so we can sleep longer."

Mat looked at him like he was strange. "That won't work you know," he finally said.

"Oh? Have you tried it?" Mat blushed and his mother had to hide a smile. Obi sighed sadly. "That's too bad. I was going to try it next time, too." Mat smirked. Then Obi perked up, "But I have just recently found a good hiding spot for naps that Miss Kiki doesn't know about...yet." He sighed. "She's gotten really good at finding me, though. So I don't know how long it will get to be my secret." Mat nodded sympathetically.

"I can find Mat really good now, too," Millie said proudly. Mat scowled at her.

Obi was about to lean over to Mat when both Rose and Thayne moved to interrupt him.

"I don't think Mat needs help," came from Rose.

Thayne grabbed Obi's collar. "Eat. The sun's up."

Obi looked sadly at Mat, and obediently finished eating. When he was done he pushed away from the table and stood up, looking around at the group. The other adults had been quietly chatting, nursing warm drinks. "Let me pay, and then we'll be on our way," he announced. They started to rise and collect things.

A short heavy-set man came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron. He walked up to Obi and held out a hand. Obi took it. "I'm Fred, Cathy's husband. Thank you for staying here this past night. I hope you had a pleasant stay."

"I did, thank you, and thank you for hosting us. How much do I owe?" Fred eyed him, thinking. "Don't cheat yourself. The castle's paying, not me. ...And don't cheat the castle, I'm paying." Obi winked, but his face was serious. Obi was pretty sure Fred wanted to say it was on the house, but that wouldn't do. He was running a business.

Fred nodded, understanding. He named a fair price and Obi handed it over. "Breakfast was very good, and dinner was delicious," Obi said to him.

"I'm glad you enjoyed them," Fred smiled. "Please feel free to come by anytime. Oh, I've given Rose a packet of food for lunch for everyone."

"Thanks!" Obi said, pleased, as the owner-chef headed back to the kitchen.

Obi looked back at everyone. They were standing, waiting for him. As he walked over to join them by the door, Thayne handed him one of Rose's bags, keeping the other. Rose was carrying a large basket that likely had the lunch in it. "Right then," Obi said opening the door, motioning for Thayne to lead off. "Ready for adventure?" he smiled down at Mat and Micky as they passed in front of him following their mother. This time they both smiled and nodded. "Yup!"

"You're pretty good with kids," commented Betty as she passed him last. He followed her out.

"I like them," he said simply.

Thayne looked back and said over his shoulder as he led the the group towards the outer wall of the city and the stable that held their horses, "That's because he still is one."

Obi laughed. "So are you, squirt! You just keep forgetting it."

Thayne rolled his eyes at him. "I would guess that's because I have to babysit you."

Obi looked over at Betty and Roy, including Robert in the glance, and shrugged. "There's just no helping him."

They smiled as Thayne sighed. "Get up here old man, and lead the way."

Obi put his free hand behind his head. "Nah. You're doing a great job. ...I'll have to lead later anyway. You can take your turn now."

Thayne shook his head and looked at Rose and the kids. "There's just no helping him," he said sadly. Everyone laughed, though Micky didn't quite get it. Thayne looked back into Obi's eyes and they shared a satisfied smile.

-o-o-o-

Everyone waited near the city gate while the two fetched their horses. The men put Rose's bags they'd been carrying behind the saddles, lashing them down. Obi ran his hands down the legs of his horse, checking them for swelling. They'd been riding hard the last few days. He was pleased when they seemed okay. He checked Thayne's horse as well. Not too bad. He rubbed his horse's neck as they walked back to the group with the horses in tow. "You'll get a rest this morning. That'll be nice, no?" Fenrier nodded his head. Obi was quite certain horses were as intelligent as humans, even more so than some.

Millie's eyes were wide with awe as she watched the horses. "You like horses, Millie?" Thayne asked. She nodded enthusiastically. "Would you like to come ride? You just hold on. I'll lead him."

Her eyes lit up, "Can I, Ma? Please?" she begged Rose.

Rose looked at Obi. He nodded approval as the kids wouldn't be able to keep up with the adults all morning with their shorter legs. "All right," she allowed.

Thayne helped Millie up into the saddle, then adjusted the stirrups so she could put her feet in them. They were still just a little long. "Keep your feet in them anyway," Thayne instructed her. "That way if you lose your balance, your feet have something to grab onto to keep you in the saddle."

She nodded, clutching the pommel. She was excited, but it was a bit frightening to be up so high on such a large animal. "We'll walk it slow until you get your balance, okay?"

"Okay," she said.

The boys were looking a bit disappointed. They weren't as excited about horses as Millie, but they didn't want to be left out either. Obi looked from them to their mother. She asked the question with her eyes and he nodded. "Come on," she shepherded them over to Obi. "Father says you can ride his horse." Their eyes got big.

"Come on up here first, Mat," he waved him over, then put his hands around the boy's waist. "Up we go," he boosted him until his stomach was on the side of the saddle. "Grab the pommel - the round thing on the left, then boost yourself up and swing your right leg around, like you're going to sit on a fence rail." The boy was obedient and was soon sitting up. His eyes were wide. "It's high."

Obi nodded. "Like being in my favorite tree," he agreed. Mat got the connection of trees and height and relaxed a bit. "But a horse moves, so you will have to learn the balance. That's a bit like walking the fence. You have to move your body with the horse." He looked down at Micky. "Mat, shift back a bit in the saddle until you're just sitting on the part that rises in the back. That's good. You can hold onto the back of the saddle to keep your balance while I put Micky on."

Roy walked to the other side of Obi's horse and put his hand on Mat's knee. "I'll help keep you balanced. You're doing a great job."

Obi picked up Micky, then tossed him into the air and caught him, grinning into his surprised, scared face. "Oh, sorry. You can't fly? ...Or do you want to try flying again? I didn't give you a head start that time." Micky thought about it, then grinned. "Fly"

Obi threw him up in the air again and Micky laughed. Obi faked disappointment. "It didn't work, Micky. I guess you'll have to ride, then." He put him up in the saddle in front of Mat. Having already been up in the air, he wasn't so nervous of being up on top of a high horse.

Roy put his other hand on Micky's leg and steadied both boys until they were settled. Micky held onto the pommel and Mat put his hands on his brother's hips. Fenrier shifted to rebalance himself and the boys startled. Roy smiled at them. "I'll stay beside you until you get used to it." They looked at him gratefully. Rose decided, to calm to own heart, to walk on the other side so they wouldn't slip off the other way.


	11. First Delivery to the Safe House

_I've reached the milestone of being in the writing of this at the ultimate point this story is all leading to, though for you it is still a long way off. I am glad to finally be there. I have been wanting to write the main goal for a while now. I do like coming back and reading the beginning again as I edit it before posting. It was a lot of fun to write, too._

 _Obi has to go back to the castle in this chapter, but that is okay. We will soon get to the meat of the story. Please be looking forward to it._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11 First Delivery to the Safe House**

They left the city, going slowly at first until the kids were balanced, then at a fast walk for the adults. That of course was still fairly slow for the horses, but they found a compromise speed that seemed to work. They did let the kids down to run before they got too tired from riding. It was a lot of work to stay balanced on the back of a horse if you weren't used to it. Obi led them westward along the North Road, back the way he and Thayne had come from. The kids were the first to start getting hungry for lunch and started whining and teasing each other. Rose was exasperated early with them as she didn't want them to act up in 'company'.

Roy and Betty each took a boy by the hand and distracted them with conversation. Millie took her mother's hand and walked quietly with her. Rose relaxed, then asked Millie if she'd be willing to help carry the basket by taking one side of the handle while she took the other. Obi figured it was probably getting heavy by now. When the boys couldn't be distracted any longer, Obi looked back at Rose. "Did Mister Fred put anything like fruit in that we could munch on while we walk? I'd like to hold lunch until we're at the meeting spot." She looked in it and pulled out some apples and oranges.

"Here, let me have an apple," Robert said. He pulled out a knife and cut it in half and gave a half to each of the boys. He did the same with the rest of the apples, passing out halves until they were all munching.

"You can give the horses the cores," Thayne said to the boys when they got down to them. "Just hold your hands open with the core resting in the palm. Then hold it in front of their noses."

The boys gingerly did as they were instructed, giggling when the air from the horses sniffing the apple cores tickled their palms. "Soft," Mat said when Fenrier grabbed up the core with his lip. Obi nodded.

"Can I try?" Millie asked, her core ready. Thayne nodded and watched as she carefully held it in place then steeled herself to not drop it as the large teeth got close to her hand. The horse picked up the core with its large lips and munched happily. Millie smiled brightly.

Obi handed his core to Mat. "Give another one to Fenrier so he's not jealous." Mat nodded and complied. After that, all the cores had to be fed to the horses, with the kids taking turns. Obi patted Fenrier's forehead. "That's a happy thing, to have a rest and get apple treats, huh? Makes all that running worth it." He hoped he'd get a treat when he got back to the castle. He was doing a lot of running this time, too, but it was more of a rest to be doing this than to be locked in the castle. Poor Ilena might be lying down, but it wasn't any more restful for her to be locked in the castle either. Obi wrapped his arm around his horse's neck and hugged him. He was glad he was allowed to hug something warm, even if it was a big creature trying to step on his heels.

Shortly after the noon hour, they reached a fork in the road, where one of the roads that went south towards the capital of Wistal met the main North Road. Obi had them pull off the road and set up lunch in the southwest corner field near the intersection. He told them that they would likely have several hours still to wait, so everyone ate slow, rested, and meandered. He lay down for a short cat nap, putting on his alert ears to listen for oncoming travellers.

His internal timer went off about the same time he realized he'd actually fallen asleep. Early mornings always seemed to do that to him - made him really take naps. He sat up and looked around. Betty had some hand sewing out and was showing Millie how to do some stitch or other. Roy was squatting with the boys, looking at something they seemed very interested in. Probably some insect or other, Obi guessed. Rose was passed out, but seemed like she'd wake up soon. Thayne was sprawled, leaning against a rock and looking towards the direction his family would be coming from, his hands behind his head. He looked over as Obi moved. Obi looked at him questioningly and he shook his head. Obi's timer said that it should be soon. He thought for a minute, looking around at everyone briefly. Robert had seen him move and was on his way over to talk to him it looked like. Obi really wanted two defenders per group, but he also wanted to know how far away the other travellers were. He decided to be patient for now, at least until he'd seen what Robert wanted. That would distract him for a little bit.

He crossed his legs and smiled at Robert who crouched down next to him. "Father…," Robert was hesitant. Obi waited patiently. "...May I know how long we'll be at the safe house?"

Obi tilted his head and partially closed his eyes thoughtfully. "I don't know... You're the first group going, so it will be the longest wait, I'm afraid. But I do know that Master is moving at the best pace he can. I would have to guess."

"Well, that would be okay."

"Mmm...well, about...two, three months?"

"Ah. Months. Well."

"Is it work? Your employment?"

"Eh, ah, no. I've left that with the others to do. It's more that...I don't seem to fit in well. It seems like that's a long time to be with strangers."

Obi's alarms went off, but he didn't let on. "Strangers?"

"Well, I, um, I'm a loner, a hermit. It's difficult for me be around people for long periods of time."

"Well, Robert, I can tell you that you'll get your own room, so you'll have your own space inside the house. Everyone will need to help take care of the house and the chores - there isn't much support staff in order to keep everyone safe - so you'll have your own work to do. And there's plenty of space, though there is a boundary we ask you not to cross. After all, we can't keep you safe if you're not close enough to be kept safe." He looked at Robert, assessing. "There are also going to be just enough people that you may find someone to talk to when you do want to just talk. This is just a small part of them." Obi thought Robert might get along well with Peter, actually.

Robert nodded, still a little doubtful. Obi shifted to lift one knee and rest his elbow on it, leaning his face against his arm. "Robert, will you tell me your story? Why do you follow Mother?"

Robert shook his head, turning red. Obi waited. Robert took his hat off and started turning it round in his hands, then he shifted to sit, still clutching the brim of his hat. He refused to lift his eyes from the ground. Finally he started talking haltingly. "I'm a stonesmith. She scouted me out, showing up out of the blue behind me one day. She'd been watching me work for a while before she came to talk to me, I guess. She praised my sense of balance and understanding of how the rocks talk to each other, which ones will stay with others and in what way. Which places to ask them to divide to get the results I need. I remember looking at her and thinking, _if human beauty could be stone's beauty, it would be this_. Not a speck of her was out of place. Her face could have been chiseled by a stone sculptor's hand, but at the same time it moved and flowed with life. Not the over-animated life of people like those children or their mother," he glanced at them, "but completely controlled life. Like she knew exactly what she wanted already, and how to get it. Every motion, from her words and the decisions she made to the minutest movement of the muscles in her face seemed to move exactly to her will. I couldn't stop looking at her. I was looking at what I see all the time in the rocks, but come to life, in constant motion."

He paused thinking. "It wasn't like she was perfect. She isn't, I know that. No one is. I could see the imperfections - where if I struck with my little hammer just right, a piece might crumble off - but all the stone I work with is like that. It just made it all the more real to me. ...I think she could see that I was looking at her too much. I couldn't hear her. She reached out and gently turned me around so I was looking at the stone I'd been working on again. That pulled me back. Then she put her hand across my eyes and spoke in my ear very quietly. She said that she needed someone like me, that knew rock intimately. That she would have several very important jobs over the years for me, but when I wasn't working on them I could do whatever jobs I wanted. Would I be interested, and would I be willing to train others to do what I can do?"

He blushed again, looking very embarrassed. "The perfect living stone had said she wanted me for my talents, and only my talents, and would give me everything I had ever thought I might want. I couldn't say no. I desperately wanted to say yes. It was like being tempted by the seductress. But I also couldn't say yes. I knew I had to say no. It hurt so bad I trembled. She could feel it, she was so close. Then she said, 'I don't want you to feel that I'm buying you from your owner. I want you to come to me freely, so that you may work with your whole heart. Your work is exceptional, but it isn't what it could be, because you can't give it your whole heart and being. I won't buy you, but your freedom. When you're content with that as the price, when you love being able to give your whole heart to your talent, I hope that you will give your talent to me.' Then she left, her warmth slowly leaving me. I loved her already."

He stopped suddenly, looking up at Obi in shock, "I don't mean it that way...I mean like I love the stone."

Obi held up his hand. "I know Mother," he said softly.

Robert stopped, then nodded. Picking back up his story, he said, "Two, three days later, in the evening, my work was interrupted by noises coming from nearby, and getting closer. I looked around in confusion, and a very fast, darkly wrapped person was coming for me. The noises weren't near me yet, and this person was very quiet. But as soon as she touched me, I knew who it was. Every muscle perfect. Every motion exact. With one hand she grabbed my tools, with the other she grabbed me. We didn't stop until we were up on the hill, about three-quarters of the way up. Then she turned me around to face the destruction below us. Again she spoke to me in my ear softly from behind. 'Remember this. Remember what was done here, before this and now. Someday I'll send for you, and you must recall all of this for me.' I nodded. Then she said, as she placed my tool kit in my hand, 'And when you're ready to give me yourself, your talent, call me and I'll come.' She was pulling away, and I managed to somehow ask what I should call her. Whispered back on the wind was the word, 'Mother', and she was gone." Robert shivered.

"I stayed hidden until the middle of the next day and it was still. Then I made my way to a place where I would be safe, found employment and started working. When I was able to give my whole heart to my work, I started wondering how to find her. Then one of my regulars, who purchased small works every few months, touched a piece I'd done with Mother in mind. I wanted to find her so badly, I'd put it into that stone. He looked up at me and said, 'Mother will love this. Will you please hold it for me, so I may bring her to see it?' I didn't want to part with it, but he planted a small seed of hope in me with his words, so I agreed. Two weeks later, I was working in the back. Someone had come into the shop, and the help was out there, so I didn't move. "

"Then, just as I paused in my work to inspect it, a hand went in front of my eyes. 'You've finally called me, Robert. It's beautiful. It makes me want to have it, but I want to have you more. Are you ready?' I couldn't help it…," he was embarrassed again. "I felt like I was five again. I spun around and held her, sobbing. She held my head against her shoulder, letting me let it all go. When I was done, she let me go and let me look at her perfection one more time. Even her smile…," Robert looked away. "...Then she said, 'I'll contact you again. I look forward to what you can show me.' And she was gone. I haven't seen her since then, but that memory is enough."

"That regular customer was my one contact with her. Sometimes he would just come to purchase, always one of my best small works, so that I soon started making special ones just for Mother for him to buy. Other times he would give me work to do for her. And then he started bringing me apprentices. Excellent ones that had eyes to see, hands to do the work. One here, one there. I know how hard it is to find people with the talent, and each of them is different, but she's done her best to find the best possible talent. And every one of them loves her, too. They know why I'm here. It's not the work I'm worried about." His speaking stopped and he sat in memory.

Obi reached out to get him to look up at him. When he had Robert's eyes, he said, "And everyone you're going to be at the house with is the same. You don't need to be worried about being _there_ , either. I"ll help you understand so that you can know you're not surrounded by strangers, but truly by Mother's Family."

Robert drank in the soft look in Obi's face. "Thank you, Father. ...You are also a living stone, ...when you're thinking of Mother." Then, his face red, he got up and walked away to recover. Obi watched after him thoughtfully for a moment, then put his head down on his knee, his arm relaxing over his head, letting the emotions Robert's story had evoked wash over him.

He stayed that way for a while, the others respecting his need for space. Then the sound of hooves and wheels came from a distance off, his sharp ears catching them early, and he looked up to Thayne. He'd stood up and was shading his eyes to see. "Go get 'em!" Obi called to him. Thayne looked at him with a big grin and grabbed up his horse's reins. In just a few seconds he was on the horse and galloping away.

Obi stood up. "They're about here. Time to get packed up," he called loudly enough for everyone to hear. There was the usual bustling motion as people got ready to go.

"Hey," asked Roy, "How do you know it's them? Plenty of other wagons and people have passed us in this time."

Obi shrugged. "Practice? Timing? The way the horses step? Dane's carriage horse walks like a dainty woman that doesn't want to get her shoes wet. Even when she's going fast. The previous wagon horse was lazy and dragged it's feet. The wheels sounded different, too."

Roy shook his head. "Amazing."

There was general mayhem when the wagon reached the group. The carriage was surprisingly not far behind. Foster saw Obi's expression and jerked his thumb back at the carriage. "He left before sunrise, so we'd get to where we thought you might be nearly together." Then he grinned a somewhat regretful smile. "Of course, I'm afraid I couldn't help it and made the nag step quickly, so we managed to overtake him. But not by much."

Obi grinned back. "Works for me. Glad you're finally here. Everything go okay?"

Foster nodded. "No problems."

Obi relaxed. "Good."

Dane pulled up to a stop behind Foster. "Hey, Father! Told you we'd be all right, didn't I?"

Obi walked over to stand at the side of the carriage and look up at him. "Yes, you did. Good job."

Dane looked at him a moment. "You've got more light in you. Was it a good night?"

"Yes. I learned how to see the darkness and the light. ...And Robert just told me his story."

"Ah," understanding came to Dane's eyes. "You just got a good dose of it, then."

Obi nodded then turned and looked around at everyone. It was a good feeling. The women folk were quickly becoming friends, and Thom was completely excited to be meeting three more siblings. Even Millie, who was feeling a little left out, had to smile at his antics. Thayne was smiling big. Thom would run off to greet someone new, then run back to him to grab him and babble excitedly, then repeat the process. Peter and Robert were shyly looking at each other, recognizing kindred spirits. Obi walked over to the carriage door and opened it.

"How are you Dame Freida?" he asked politely and nodded at the maid, June.

"Just fine, dear," she answered as brightly as ever.

"We've got everyone now, would you like to come be introduced?" he held out his hand for her.

Once he and June had Freida outside the carriage, Obi looked significantly at Thayne, who grabbed up Thom. Then he looked at Foster. "Listen up," Foster called out over the mayhem, and everyone quieted down.

"Congratulations, everyone," Obi said, "though it might be a little early, on being the first to be called by Mother. I hope you'll all be able to get along. The tone you set now will be the tone for the rest when they come."

"Which, of course is the tone Mother set a long time ago," Dane couldn't resist.

Obi ignored him. "We've still got a ways to go, and I'd really like to do it in one stretch, as always. We"ll stop at an inn for dinner, but not stay to sleep. My hope is the little ones will fall asleep after eating a good meal and sleep as we go for the rest of the trip." The moms nodded, relieved. "When we get there, crash wherever you want. You can rearrange rooms tomorrow." He turned to Freida. "I'd like to ask if Roy and Betty may ride with you and June in the carriage. Would that be okay with you, Dame Freida?"

"Certainly," her eyes crinkled up with her smile. "We'd be glad for more company, wouldn't we June. I sleep so much she's become quite bored, I'm afraid."

June deprecated, but Obi was sure it was true. He smiled at her. "Any time you want to switch out, now that we have more of us to sit with her, let Dane know. That would be fine." June nodded her thanks.

"The rest of you, hop up into the wagon. Let's get going." There was a mad scramble to assemble.

Obi rode his horse over to the four soldiers that were the day's honor guard. "Thank you for helping out today. We've got enough swords between us now, we'll be okay. You may return...unless the Captain gave you furlough long enough to go into town?"

The soldier in charge shook his head regretfully. "We're to go back."

"Ah, well. Safe travels." They turned and headed back to the garrison at a much faster pace than they had come out.

Obi rode to the front of the group, leading them down the South Road, "Let's get this adventure on the road again!" he called. The kids all cheered, glad to be moving again with new companions.

The trip to the safe house was long but uneventful. Obi was grateful, and so was everyone else, truth be told. Exciting trips were usually dangerous trips. In reality, though, Obi had taken them on a circuitous route in order to confuse as many of them, and any followers, as he could. He figured Foster would figure it out eventually, but it should be sufficient for most. They weren't really that far from the castle, just about an hour and a half southeast of it by fast horse, down in a little bowl. It was a small manor house, only forty-three rooms. The land also boasted a servants quarters, a good sized stable, a deep well, chickens and a couple of cows, and a good sized garden. There was grassy field around it, sufficient for all the horses being collected and the two cows, but as the bowl rose it turned rocky. Once you got up on top the bowl, a good distance from the house, scrub, then trees, grew. You could see the mountains from there, but the distance wasn't determinable.

The one thing you couldn't see was the castle, so there was no frame of reference to leaving, other than the road leading to the house at the southwest end of the bowl. There was also no reference for coming except by the road, since it all sat down below the level of the rest of the area, so you didn't actually see the house and it's land until you were up on the rim of the bowl. It was the perfect safe house.

The squad that was assigned to protect the witnesses bunked in the servant's quarters and patrolled the rim regularly, as well as the road. They had a station built along the road far enough out that from it the house couldn't be seen. That way they could turn random travellers away and not be discovered. Obi's face had been necessary there, too. The guards wouldn't have let the group pass if he hadn't been with them.

For servant staff, there were a cook, a housekeeper, and their young teenage daughter who helped with the animals and garden. (Millie was excited when they met the first day.) Zen had decided to keep it simple at first since he didn't know what skills the people coming would bring with them. He expected folks who could take care of themselves for the most part. It was very unlikely that Ilena's witnesses would all be nobles, after all. But he didn't want it to be too much like a prison, so he'd wanted some kind of personal touch. He figured a small family that had the basic skill set would fit in well with what he envisioned Ilena would pull in. He wasn't too off the mark. He had also very carefully selected the guard squad. They were all genial sorts who had mothers and sisters of their own, so to speak. They'd be fierce protectors, firm with keeping everyone there, and since the captain would be collecting the reports to send in, they were headed by the most personable soldier he knew.

Obi introduced Captain Garen and the three staff members at the breakfast table the next morning and had them tell a little about their background as an ice-breaker. He'd instructed for a late breakfast so everyone could catch up from the short sleep they'd all been getting. Once the basic introductions were done, and the little children were finished eating, because of course they finished first, he had the teenage daughter of the cook, Alice, take them outside to explore. The tables were set up in a square, but the people present only filled up two sides of it, it was such a big dining room. Obi finished his meal, then stood up and went inside the square where he could be seen and heard by everyone.

"Welcome to Falcon's Hollow," Obi said to them, getting their attention. "We anticipate this will be home for you for the next two to three months. Hopefully no more than that. We should be getting the rest of the witnesses little by little over the next three weeks or so. Captain Garen will be getting your testimonies of what Mother has asked you to remember. He's a nice guy, I promise." He smiled encouragingly at them. "Master can read his handwriting, too, unlike mine." He got a few chuckles. "The main reason for the long stay isn't the fact that you have things to say we need to hear. It's because Regent Zen wants to have time to review what you've all said, put it all together into a proper case against the criminals in question, make the proper arrests, and have time to announce and hold the Lord's Court. He's hoping that can all be done within two months. We're hedging with another possible month for unforeseen difficulties...you know, such things always show up in bureaucracies." There were nods around the table.

"Let's see. House rules. Don't leave the bowl. The guards promise to be sweet and nice up until that point. Only people I bring in come in. The same for going out. Mother may know your names and faces, and I've come to love you all too, but we'd like to prevent any suspicious behaviors that make it look like a spy is trying to get out and leak where you are. It's just general security protocol. If the little kids forget and get out, send the soldiers. Then there won't have to be any doubt or worry, okay?" He got nods. Good. No disappointed looks either. That was also good.

"Everyone helps with the chores. Bill will be head chef, but he'll need help. Lilly knows where everything in the house is already, but everyone needs to help keep it clean. And Alice will help babysit if you'll help with the garden and animals. Lilly and Bill will set up rotations, but you're welcome to have your input. I'm sure it will take a few days to work it all out, but we do want to keep it all family while you're here. If you fight, make up. If you can't make up, take it to Lilly or Bill. If they can't resolve it, it goes to the Captain. If it needs addressing by me, I'll come spank you."

Obi paused, looking at them all again, his eyes sharp. He wanted to see their reactions to the next few things he was going to tell them. "...And heaven help us all if I have to call in Mother." He definitely had their full attention. "I promised I'd tell you once we got here. She's alive. She's safe. But her hip was crushed in the landslide. She is recovering, but at the moment it's looking like she won't ever have use of her leg again. A tendon was torn that our surgeons can't fix. Master is still looking for one who might be able to help, however, so it isn't a given just yet. I won't be staying - I have to go fetch the rest, of course - but I will bring what news I can each time I come." The typical reactions had gone round - relief, sorrow, worry, understanding.

"I expect she's going to want to see you." They all wanted it, he could see. "If you're willing to stick around long enough, you may get to. Master will be willing to let you go home before he's able to let her out of her protective custody, is the current plan. That may change as your testimonies arrive and are added to the evidence we already have, though." He wasn't telling them everything. He couldn't. But he suspected they already knew. It was the same as at the Black Cat. He wasn't going to be told everything about the Family she'd built yet because of the same reason. It went both ways. It would continue to be built up little by little. He looked at Captain Garen. "Have I left anything else out?"

The Captain stood. "We'll be holding regular 'family councils' like this for people to air out concerns and complaints. We'd like to keep the rules as simple as have been stated. 'If it's not yours, don't take it' kind of rules need to be just common sense, please. We'll also use the meetings for passing on of news from the outside and other such things." He sat down.

Obi continued. "I'll be leaving shortly, but I want to make one recommendation. I have greatly appreciated hearing your individual stories about how you met Mother. Though I haven't heard everyone's yet, it has helped me to get to know you better, and her. I would like it, as Father, if you would all take the opportunity to tell each other your stories, so you'll understand better why it is you're all here, and how you can best support each other, and her. ...Bill and Lilly, if you'd like to take over for the housekeeping side of things." He looked at them all one more time, fondly, looking a little longer at Thayne. "Be well." Then he nodded at Captain Garen and the two left the dining room.

He gave his final orders to the captain on the walk to the stables where his horse was still waiting for him in a stall, the others having been released to the field. "Sit in on the times they talk about Mother. I want a record of all their stories. Send them directly to me. The testimonies can go to Mister Mitsuhide. He'll review them first. Daily reports, but you can send them every two to three days. They come to me, too." He sighed. He was giving himself a lot of work. "They're a good bunch of Kids."

Captain Garen looked at him a little strange. "Will do. But...why are you 'Father'...and even acting the part?"

Obi climbed up on his horse and looked down at him. "Ask them. They won't tell me the why, and they probably won't tell you either. I'm acting it because I feel like it." He smiled. "Good luck!" He turned onto the road and left them behind. Once out of sight of the house, and past the guard station, he kicked Fenrier into a gallop and headed on the direct route for the castle. It was time to answer the ache to see Master.

-o-o-o-

Zen finished reviewing a report, put it down, and sighed. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. It was about lunch time and he felt like he'd already done a day's worth of work. He looked back down at his desk and counted. Compared to two and three years ago, he had.

"Zen," Kiki's voice came from behind her own stacks of work. "Obi's back."

"Already? Isn't that two days earlier than we planned?" Mitsuhide's distracted voice came from behind yet more stacks.

"It's okay with me" Kiki said. "He can have half my stacks."

"No, I don't think that's possible, Miss Kiki," Obi answered. "I just assigned myself two more stacks this morning."

Mitsuhide and Kiki both looked up at him. "You assigned work to yourself? That is a surprise."

Zen turned himself around. Obi was in his usual position when he was in the office, at least if he wasn't chained to a desk like everyone else. He was perched up on the banister of the balcony outside the office, looking in through the open French doors, his arms resting on his knees. He had arrived via rooftop as usual.

"I also assigned another stack to Mister."

Mitsuhide asked mildly, "Which one?"

"The eye witness accounts," Obi answered. "Since Master will get all three stacks, I thought it would help if you sorted those first." Mitsuhide nodded and went back to his work.

Zen put his head in his hand. "Well, I know I need to read them, but I really don't need three more stacks."

"It's okay, Master. You don't have to read them all. I'll mark the important parts." Obi tried to reassure him.

"So...how'd it go?" Zen knew it would be easier to get Obi's report while he was still outside. Obi usually had to work up the courage to shut himself back up inside. Zen stood up, went out onto the balcony, and leaned on the banister next to Obi. He may as well get a change of view himself.

"Interesting. Ah, did you get my message?"

Zen looked at him darkly, "Yeees, but I'm quite sure I didn't understand it." He was never fond of Obi's short messages.

Obi pursed his lips. "Because Master wouldn't pay Miss Ilena's price for Obi to understand how to collect Children, Obi made a grave mistake and almost lost the trust of two who weren't going to come." He said it very clipped, a sharpness Zen wasn't sure he'd ever heard before. He even stood up straight and listened properly when he heard it. It was very rare for Obi to scold him. "I was told very clearly by word, and experience, by one of those two that Miss Ilena's price is 'always worth paying'."

Obi came down off the banister and stood straight in front of Zen. "Even if Master doesn't like the thought of bribes, Miss Ilena is not worthy of that thought."

Zen puzzled that one over. "To Miss Ilena it isn't a bribe? Then what is it to her?"

"I've listened to four or five stories on the way. To them, and to her, it's sometimes a reward, sometimes an equal exchange." Obi paused, then added. "I believe, at that time, she was testing Master..." Now he really paused. He had something to say he didn't want to say.

"You may say it, Obi," Zen gave permission, and steeled himself somewhat.

"...I'm sorry, Master, but Obi believes Master failed that test, even though Master's response was a natural one for him. I was only able to recover because the little lord was wise and scolded me before I could fail in my task. He was also forgiving enough to then teach me what Master didn't allow Miss Ilena to teach me. His father, Earl Malkin, was also willing to forgive and allow me to take the two witnesses, one of whom is his own second son. I was very fortunate."

Mitsuhide and Kiki had stopped working. It was obvious because there was no noise from their pens. Even they were shocked at the severe scolding Obi had just given Zen. "I'm sorry to have caused you trouble and difficulty." Zen apologized properly. "I'll try to be sure next time that I don't miss an opportunity to understand."

"One thing I heard also, Miss Ilena teaches her Children to 'speak truth'."

Zen added that to his mental list, then asked, for clarification, "So Miss Ilena may withhold information, but she will always speak the truth?"

Obi nodded. "I believe so. I haven't seen it yet be otherwise. If her Children are teaching their children this, it can almost be assured."

Zen nodded. He'd had less experience with her than Obi, but it still coincided. "How many did you end up with?"

"Six men, six women, two sets of them are couples, four children. The oldest is very old, the youngest is three. One I like very much. One is from the world I came from. I don't understand why Miss Ilena wants her, but she will be obedient."

"If you can find out, that would be good."

Obi shrugged. "It will be in her report."

Of course. The other one…

"Obi, you found a girlfriend?" Mitsuhide asked.

Obi held up his hand in a rude gesture to Mitsuhide, though he looked only at Zen. "The one I like, his name is Thayne of Wexford. In the world of Miss Ilena's Family he was my 'translator' and my guide during the journey. He was also with me during the time at Earl Malkin's house and was very obedient then."

"He let you make the mistake?"

"...When I retrieved him, strategy was necessary. He didn't know I didn't know at that time. It wasn't until my scolding that I told them I didn't know what I needed to know. Then he was willing to assist me when necessary. ...But, Miss Ilena will also receive a scolding, so Master doesn't need to feel lonely."

"Because she didn't tell you anyway?"

"No. Because I was given ten names and there were sixteen people who were retrieved."

"Ah," Zen nodded. That would have been frustrating to have people show up you didn't expect and hadn't planned on. Like the children and the very old. Not that they weren't welcome, just that they required different plans. "Is there anything else I need to know now about the trip?" Obi would include everything in his written report, but he wanted the important highlights now.

"Miss Ilena is very loved. Those who are at the safe house will stay to greet her."

"No matter how long it takes?"

"No matter," Obi agreed. "Also, Miss Ilena collects talent. Both talent that already exists and talent that she shapes herself for her own purposes."

"What are the examples so far?" This was a list Zen really wanted.

"Surgery researcher, forester, master stonemason. These are talents that already existed. The one she created is the assassin."

"She _created_ an assassin?"

"As I said, I don't understand that one," Obi frowned. "I understood her story, but I'll need to also see her testimony to understand fully, I think."

Zen was still for a while. "Do you think it's possible she didn't understand...?" But Obi was shaking his head.

"The master stonemason said it, Miss Ilena lives a 'completely controlled life'. She knows exactly what she wants already, and how to get it. 'Every motion, from her words and the decisions she makes to the minutest movement of the muscles in her face seem to move exactly to her will'. He admitted she isn't as perfect as that description makes it seem - even I can attest to her imperfections - but there's no way she didn't understand what she was doing with that woman. Every person she deals with, it's for a specific reason. She could have saved any stonemason. Why that one? Someday we may understand, but the knowing won't come easy, I think."

"You think it's for one of the deeper things she keeps hidden away?"

Obi nodded. He paused to think. "I think Miss Ilena loves Master as Prince. Her Children said they 'love him too', so I'm thinking she won't purposely harm Master, nor even, if she can help it, accidentally. ...But I still don't understand her motives."

Zen nodded. "Well, even I think it is too early for that to be clear yet. ... I have received a clue that is important. I need to verify it or rule it out. When you speak to her next, ask her this question: _How did you come to be living at the Earldom?_ I need the answer to this, the sooner the better, I think."

Obi nodded. "I'll bring it to Master tomorrow."

Zen turned to go back into the office. Over his shoulder he said, "Good work Obi. Your desk needs you now. It's about to collapse from the work you weren't able to do while you were gone."

Obi sighed. "And I have a _very_ long report to write." He obediently followed the Master that he loved into the cage that was the castle.

-o-o-o-

Obi was tired. He was glad he'd been able to have a nap earlier that day. His strength had all been taken away by having to sit at his desk until just recently, and he still wasn't done. He was already looking forward to the next list of witnesses to collect. That was a lot more fun, even if he didn't get any more sleep. He'd just sent Ryuu off to bed. Now he gestured to the guards to let him into Ilena's room. He very quietly slipped into the room, the smell of a sick room hitting him harder now that he'd been away and outdoors for five days. But it wasn't so bad as to make him concerned. They had been properly taking care of her, Mistress and the nurses. That was good.

He walked soundlessly to his spot on the opposite wall from where she lay. While she was sleeping, he slept his light sleep - deep enough to rest, light enough to awaken at any distressing or unusual sound. Last time, she'd woken up while he was still crossing the room. This time she waited until he was in his position, but he could tell she was already awake. Had she heard him outside in the hall? She was more than capable of it. Or had she just been unable to sleep? That wouldn't surprise him either. He quietly let out a long breath, relaxing into his position and leaning his head against the wall.

"Are the Children safe?"

"Mmm."

"...Are you well?"

 _Me?_ … "Yes. Just tired from office work today. You?"

"...Mistress Shirayuki and Ryuu have been doing their best to keep me entertained. I've enjoyed our conversations. ...They asked me if I wanted to become an apprentice pharmacist." He could hear her smile and hear in her voice the pleasure of being asked. "Of course, I refused, though they insisted I already had enough knowledge to become one."

"You refused? It's easiest to follow Mistress as one, though."

"No. It might be for right now, but that 's not her real goal, is it? ...and it 's not my goal."

"What is your goal?"

"...to be completely indispensable to Zen."

So, she wasn't going to tell him at this time, but he already had an inkling. Her own people had done that. A person with that large a goal and a region wide network of people... There weren't many positions that matched those requirements and needs.

It was quiet for a while, but the atmosphere was becoming heavy. Obi sighed. "Please, just ask me. I will answer if I can. Have I not said so before?"

"Obi, …I know that I'm still a prisoner under interrogation, though it's a mutually beneficial relationship at the moment. It isn't my place to ask for such a thing, but...please, will you speak with the man at the lesser gate who asks after me, for 'the Missus'? He's...my right-hand for the running of the Family. I don't know if you can choose to believe me, but my Children won't betray me. I don't wish to cause them any more pain and worry for my sake. Even if you must swear him to secrecy, at least he needs to know so he may do the tasks he must do. ...One of those tasks is to aid you in recovering the witnesses."

"Heehhh. If Master had allowed for it to be done before?"

"You wouldn't have gone blind, and they would have been prepared to receive you."

"Mmm... If Master says I may do it, I'll do it."

"...It's sufficient."

The air lifted, and with just those words, he no longer needed to scold her. She'd already understood.

He let the silence go on for a while, then he asked, "Miss Ilena, how did you come to be living at Farmore?"

The silence was long enough he almost wondered if she were sleeping. "We lived in Selicia, the country to the north-west of Clarines, on the other side of the mountains from Lyrias and the western parts of Wilant. Lyrias was always the coldest, harshest area we travelled through. Selicia is warmer, a small country nestled in a large valley and surrounded on all sides by mountains that retain the heat and moisture of the ground. The mountains get progressively lower as you go north until there are gaps between them at the north border. That's where most of the military defenses are stationed, to protect the land from the desert kings and nomads. There was peace between Selicia and Clarines, in the main, and at the first time we came to visit, a daughter of Clarines had even been wed to a son of Selicia, in an attempt to forge a deeper bond between the nations. But within Selicia, there was no peace."

She paused and took a calming breath. "Tarc, the country to the east, that is north beyond where we are now on the other side of the mountains from both Selicia and Clarines, is highland. Barren but for grasses and wind, it is home to a nomadic people, horsemen. Because they are tribal, and seem to have no political purpose, Selicia leaders in the main paid Tarc no mind. It was their undoing."

He heard her swallow. "I was seven at the time of the coup. Using stratagem, with no concern for how long it took to canker the country, Tarc had undermined the political power of the ruling house of Selicia, until they were overthrown and a puppet house set up that even today moves to the will of the head of Tarc. My parents supported the original ruling house of Selicia. The fight was bloody, mainly to weaken the people, and many such supporters were dragged out of their homes and killed. We were fortunate enough to escape the city, but it wasn't together. I saw my parents leave, but had to leave by another way with my nurse. ...I haven't seen my parents since..."

She took another breath as if she were answering the question on the way down into sleep. "It took my nurse and I more than a year to make it through the hard mountain terrain to the Earldom of Farmore, looking in every village and hovel we passed along the way for sign of my parents, stopping occasionally for my nurse to find employment so we might afford to continue onward. Of course we couldn't travel south through the mountains during the frozen time. My family was known by the College's, partially by distant relation, so my nurse felt it was the place we would most likely be taken in, and perhaps my parents would have fled there as well. While we agreed it was not the best place to go, it was the only place we could agree to go. It was far away from the coup and probable death. I...wanted to return to Wellesley."

"I was glad to be with you...Wellesley...even though it was a short time. But it was painful to me, your life at the manor. I was glad you were able to escape to live. I wished you well always, praying for your safety. I was happy you were free. If you'd come back, you would have been killed. He still wants to do that. That's the only reason he left me alive so long - thinking that you would come back for me, and then he would have you. I think often that he only is still alive because of you, the same as me. Though, I'm kept alive thinking you're alive, he is kept alive by the dream of your death."

Another long breath-filled pause. "Even if you had come back in the next night, it would have been too late. After he discovered you gone from your bed, he immediately came to our rooms and sought you out in my bed, though I didn't understand why at the time. And perhaps I still don't. Picking me up from my bed roughly, he demanded I produce you. How was I to do that? After he punished me, with no satisfaction, he placed me under house arrest, naming me the cheese that would call the little mouse back. I prayed you would stay away, and let me come find you when it was safe, like we had done for so many times already. ...And you did, ...and I have."

Ilena's breathing finally become the breath of sleep.

Obi put his head down. She had answered Master's question, she had answered some of his own, and in the same manner, she had confirmed the Little Death dream that she'd relived at the time of her second surgery. She didn't lie. She'd chosen to find happiness in her pain, relief in her loneliness, to love when she should have only known anger and hate. Why didn't she hate him? And why... _how_ had she found him? She hadn't even known she would find him, not right at the time when she lay on the verge of death. He remembered her first words to him and Master when he'd confessed to Master his own pain. _Dead. I...must be...dead_. It had been unexpected. _...I..am..home_. She had found him; for some reason she had likewise 'found' Zen. With the two of them was 'home'. Why? Eventually, he sank into sleep, his heart full of his own conflicting emotions.


	12. The Burden that is Ilena

**CHAPTER 12 The Burden that is Ilena**

Obi gave his report the following morning, then requested a reprieve for half a day to rest. Zen allowed it. Obi looked terrible. When he'd arrived from being outside the castle, he'd looked almost refreshed, and strong. One night with Ilena and he was washed out. He wanted to be able to tell Obi to just accept Ilena as Wellesley and be done with it, but he couldn't. It was something Obi had to work out for himself. Ilena was buried too deeply in Obi for it to be simple for him. Even Ilena seemed to understand that. But, there was another reason why he couldn't tell him: Ilena's answer to his question. Zen stood looking out over the balcony banister for a while after Obi left, then he called Mitsuhide to him. "Send a messenger to my mother. We're going to pay a visit. Tell her I require a private audience."

Mitsuhide looked at Zen in surprise. In all the months they had been here, he'd only seen his Queen Mother at the time she came to greet him and turn the Regency over to him. He appeared more timid of her than he was of King Izana. "When shall I say you'll arrive?"

Zen was quiet a moment longer. It would't do to appear to be in a panic. "In the hour after lunch is past."

"Yes, Zen," Mitsuhide bowed and went to do his Liege's bidding.

Zen spent the time in between reviewing the facts and comparing them to the story that Ilena had told Obi. When he was reasonably sure he understood it well, he set it aside and continued to work on his daily work until his aides said it was time to go.

He took Mitsuhide and Kiki as usual, but when they arrived at the Queen Mother's receiving room, he left them outside the door, and removed from within any other than himself and her. It was true, he was very nervous to be in her presence, but he was here as Regent and she was a subject today. And...the topic was of utmost importance for all of Clarines.

"What may I do for you, Zen?" Haruto asked both kindly and curiously. He wasn't fooling her. She was also wondering what had brought her second son to face her. She played the game better than Izana, and she was a worse tease. That was why he hated facing her.

He stood ramrod straight, but relaxed. "Mother, if a person should come before me claiming to be cousin, how should I test that person to know if they're telling the truth?"

Even though she played the game consummately, even this question gave her pause. When she was asked things that shook her, she became dangerous, like a snake waiting to strike. Her answer was cold. "None live." Underneath the words were: _How dare you bring up the dead in my presence_. Since his father had died she hadn't ever been able to face death. She'd been left alone in the world, only two young sons and an entire kingdom to carry. She'd broken under that burden and Izana had carried it from the time he was a 14 year old prince.

 _Nonetheless, this matter must be faced. And I must have the answer_. "But how should I know it, if it was claimed?"

"..Mmmm…" Queen Mother Haruto's eyes narrowed. _Very well. I'll tell you. Then go, and leave me to mourn in peace_. "Zen, what is the most striking characteristic of the family of Wisteria?"

"White hair and blue eyes."

"Yes. If a 'cousin' should come to you and have these characteristics, believe them not."

Zen raised an eyebrow. _Really?_ She looked fierce. _Doubt me not!_ He nodded. _Yes, ma'am_.

She continued, "Zen, a birthmark can be claimed, but the birthmarks of infants fade with time, and distort if they remain so that they can't be compared by description. Believe no birthmark claim. ...However, a mark carved with dye into the skin of an infant always remains. Not as the original, for as the child grows larger, it distorts to become nearly unrecognizable, only in form." _Do you understand? Do you remember?_

Zen's eyes widened. By his right hip, on his back, there was a strange mark on his back. It was mostly unrecognizable, but appeared as stretched and fuzzy lines. He was taught to call it a birthmark when asked about it. "Ah. Is there any part of it that remains recognizable at all?" _I remember. How should I recognize such a thing in someone who has grown from the time it was done?_

"If you had a living cousin, it would be similar to what you bear, but at the bottom would be three vertical lines, rather than two." _Look to your own_. "...However, even this wouldn't be sufficient. Upon any cousin _you_ would have there would be a second proof. And, this person would be able to tell you the story of how that person's father commanded that to be, though that child was the only child to ever carry two."

 _Like mine, three vertical lines below rather than two, and a second carved mark with a story that can only be said by the right person, the clue being that the father required it_. Zen repeated it to himself so he'd remember it.

Haruto paused and looked at him in the calculating Wisteria way that told him he was being tested. "What would you do with such a one?"

"... Whatever I chose to do," and he didn't look away from her piercing look. _That's for me to decide, and I claim the right to decide it._

She finally said, "The original mark was an eagle, carrying a scroll." _Have it your way. I'll see what you will do and judge then_.

"And mine?" _Tell me all so I may understand_.

"An eagle, carrying a sheaf of grain"

"...And brother's?" _May I know it?_

"...A crowned eagle, carrying a sword."

Zen repeated each mark to himself so that he would remember them, then bowed slightly. "Thank you, Mother. I'll see myself out." _Thank you for doing as I required. I'll leave as you requested_.

When he reached the door, she finally put living words to the silent words underneath. "Zen. Such words bring painful memories." _Please do not speak words of death to me_.

He stopped and answered briefly. "I won't speak of it again, if you wish it, Mother." _I wish to respect that desire of yours, but there may come a day where it will be impossible for you to not face it._ He let himself out, closing the door behind him. He left with his aides, giving silent permission for the Queen Mother's ladies and aides to return to her side.

 _Shirayuki should still be with Miss Ilena. This is a good time_. Zen walked directly and with purpose to Ilena's guarded room.

-o-o-o-

At his back, Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at each other. What could Zen have needed to talk to his mother about? And now he goes directly to the two women at the top of his anxiety list? Which one did he discuss with her? Was it the answer to the question he set Obi to that has set this off? Kiki had done the research and written the report. Zen had told her, 'Obi says there is a family connection between him and Miss Ilena. Find all the possibilities.' There were several, but there was one possibility that would have definitely been a worry to Zen, and so he would likely act quickly to rule it out. It wasn't something they should think about just yet. Wait and see what Zen did. He was still in research mode.

They arrived at Miss Ilena's room. "Please call Miss Shirayuki out," Zen ordered the guards. The guards knocked and announced the Regent, and Shirayuki came to the door, a look of surprised curiosity, mixed with a little concern, on her face. "I'm sorry for my sudden arrival and brevity, Shirayuki." She waved it off. "Shirayuki, Mitsuhide, Kiki, please wait out here. I must speak with Miss Ilena in private." Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at each other. Zen was going to test to see who Miss Ilena was. The Queen Mother had held the key to the answer and the answer wasn't a thing he could tell them if Miss Ilena passed the test, or he would have taken them in. He entered alone, closing the door behind him.

-o-o-o-

Zen, in full regal mode, walked up to the side of Ilena's bed and looked down at her. She looked back up at him, her face serene, a hint of a sad smile about her eyes. She already met the initial criteria. She looked nothing like a Wisteria. Long black hair, very dark golden brown eyes, lightly darkened skin rather than fair. "Who are you?"

"What is it you wish to know, Zen?" Again the informal. He didn't mind it from close friends, but she wasn't that. She was going to answer for that now.

"What is your real name? Who were your parents?"

"Do you already have the proof in hand? Even if I say it, will you be able to say you know for a surety?"

"Yes." Her eyebrow raised that he'd been that thorough. She already knew he knew by research and investigation. Obi's questions always told her what Zen wanted to know.

"Very well. Then listen, and I'll tell you a story - a memory - and we'll see if they coincide."

"My birth name was Thailena Wisteria Polov. My father was Third Prince Raoul Polov of Selicia, my mother was Second Princess Tatiana Wisteria of Clarines, your mother's younger sister." Zen's world rocked. He'd only learned of his mother's sister when he'd read Kiki's research. His mother and brother had never talked of it before, nor had anyone, likely due to his mother's inability to face death in any way. To have another person confirm it... He tried to steady himself by listening closely to her words. He had to see if she passed all the tests.

"Shortly after I was born, I was marked with an eagle carrying a sheaf of wheat, under which were placed two vertical marks. This mark was made on my back near my right hip. It was done when my mother's mother came to visit Selicia, bringing with her the only person trusted to know what the mark looked like and had the art to make it, and it was done in secret. For five years I was the second heir to Clarines. Then you were born, Zen, and I was glad, for I had no desire to rule Clarines, nor do I. My parents and I came for your birth celebration at the capital. During that time, the three of us children were brought together. There were only us and our parents, no servants, save the one Grandmother had brought to our home in Selicia when I was born who was there to give you your mark. I was taken first to a side room and made to lie on a bed and told to hold very still. The pain wouldn't last long, they said. Then they remade the mark to be an eagle carrying a scroll, and added a vertical mark. I was very glad to have that third mark when it was done, as if I'd been released. Because I'd been still and quiet, my father hadn't remarked anything happening. Then they took you, still yet a young infant into that room, and placed the mark on you they'd removed from me. ... It's very painful, and an infant can only cry when exposed to pain." Her face was pained at the memory.

"My father demanded to know what they were doing and it couldn't be hidden from him. They showed him what had been done to me, and he demanded that if I were to be marked by the house of Wisteria as a child of Clarines, then I must also be marked as a child of Selicia with his mark. He drew it out for them, simply, and when your turn was done, I was sent back in a second time. This took longer and the pain was hard to bear. Though I didn't cry out, I couldn't hold back the tears. The second mark was placed on my back near the left hip and is a lioness rampant, three roses placed before her vertically, because he was the third son and I was his heir. When it was completed, it was beautiful. When in the palace at Selicia, I often would admire them both in private after bathing. I was sad when they were no longer recognizable, though I only saw that once since that chance opportunity occurred while I was already at the Earl's manor. When the marking time was done and I was allowed to return to be with you my cousins, you had been cajoled and were no longer crying. In order to distract me from my pain, they allowed me to hold you and see your mark." Ilena smiled, remembering.

"You looked at my dark hair, so different from the white which you had surrounding you, save your father, and smiled. I looked just as much at your own white hair, as my mother was the only one in all of Selicia to have that color of hair. But most of all, I vividly remember your lively blue eyes, and I felt that, you who had allowed me freedom from the weight of Clarines, were one I wanted to love and would be willing to give all my support to, even as I knew you would wish to give your support and love to your brother. I held you close to me and promised that I would always be your support and shield, to protect you in your position," she paused and looked at him, a smile in her eyes, determination also.

"When you were taken away from me, I looked to your brother. In his eyes he revealed for me, another child, his jealousy that you had been able to free me but he would never be free. Understanding his burden, I went to him and wrapped my arms around him and whispered in his ear, 'It's okay to be jealous, Izana, for you are a boy as well as a prince and it's a heavy burden to bear, but it's one only you can carry. When you are king, remember that it's okay at times to just be a man. Then, when you've rested a bit, you can pick up the burden again. Zen and I will always be with you, to support you, when you need to be just a boy or a man, and always as you are prince and king.' He stood there stunned for a moment. I think perhaps he hadn't even had human contact for a while. Then slowly he put his arms around me and held me in return. When he let go, his eyes were clear and I was glad. While I'm sure he never shows to anyone that he is a man, I hope that he has learned to pause and set the burden down long enough to breathe. I hope he has found a few people who allow him to rest because they understand that a prince and king is still a man and don't condemn him for it, even as you've found such people."

"And you know that I"ve found such people?"

"Yes. Obi and Shirayuki, and even Ryuu. And they speak of the others, Miss Kiki and Mister Mitsuhide. They all love you very much, and take delight in allowing you to be yourself. I'm glad you've found such a place to be." Her smile was genuine.

Zen paused for a moment, then asked, "Miss Ilena, you say you were only a little older than five. How is it you could have said such a thing to Elder Brother at that age?"

Ilena blinked, "Well, I was often being told I was old for one so young, but it was because I had many cousins in Selicia older than I. There was one in particular who would come to me and speak with me. I learned such a thing from him." _Cousins, the children of the then King of Selicia, including the heir._

"Do you know of the mark on Izana?"

"...I do...but you must promise to never tell your mother."

"My mother? Why?"

"I wasn't supposed to know. Later that night, after dinner, Izana pulled me away and we snuck to a quiet place, just the two of us, and he showed it to me. Already it was losing it's shape, so he had to tell me what it was so I could make it out."

Zen stared at her for a moment. *Pfft!* " _Izana_ did such a thing as to get in trouble?"

Ilena grinned, "Yes. With me, he was finally able to have someone to relax with. We got into trouble several times before my family left. He'd been so serious and stuffy before that, but after, he became the friend I'd wished for, and I hope he felt the same. At least, he seemed to. ...His mark is a crowned eagle carrying a sword."

"... As a final proof, Miss Ilena, may I see your marks?"

"Of course, Zen, but you'll have to do the work to see them as I can't move myself yet. But, before that, I should say: you should let Izana know you've seen the proof. He's been watching over me, and perhaps several other possibilities, for many years now. I know because I recognize the man he sends. He'll wish to know you've seen confirmation."

Zen was still. That would complicate matters, that his brother already knew this one could be who she was saying she was. But if Izana already thought that it was very likely as well, it would drive a wedge between them if he didn't say as soon as he found out. He would have to carefully word his report, if he didn't wish to lose Ilena to Izana's board. Then he remembered his mother, and he was glad he'd warned her she might not get her wish. Yet, she would be content to not know until she was required to know. He could wait to tell her. If Ilena was to be recognized as who she was, all of the family of Wisteria would have to acknowledge it together. Zen nodded.

"Zen, let me tell you a thing." He nodded again. "I haven't told you who I am until now not because I don't wish to be recognized as a princess. I am and always have been one and acted as best I could in that way. ...For all that I also love him dearly, and desire to be a support to him, it's because I didn't want Izana to know."

"...Why not?" She'd just told him to remain an ally to the King. Now she was saying she didn't want to be the ally of the King herself?

"Do you remember what I said I wanted? I want to stand at the back of Zen, standing beside Obi. I want Obi. From your birth, I promised to shield you. It's here that I wish to support Izana from. ...But I also know that I am a far more significant piece on his board than a pawn or even a knight. I am the First Princess of Clarines. As Second Prince, you understand." Zen did, with frightening depth. This was why he wanted to word his report to his brother carefully.

With great care in what she said, Ilena continued, "I've worked very hard for many years to create a space for myself. A space that, when it was time for me to be placed upon the boards of Wisteria, would be one that would require me to be placed upon the board of my choosing, in the place of my choosing. Yet, I understand that even though I've done this, if my efforts can't, or won't, be recognized, I'll be placed in a space not of my choosing, but of the choosing of the King. ...I'll fight to remain in the place of my choosing, but in the end, I'll submit to the will of the King. I've also promised to support him, as a man and as a king." She waited for him to understand, then continued. "To complicate the matter further, though I regret having to do so, I'm also the heir to the throne of Selicia, unless another one should be found to still be living. ...I am a princess to two kingdoms. If I'm recognized by Wisteria, Selicia will come."

Zen went white. She was right. Even if the new government wouldn't recognize her as a true heir, they could demand that she be used upon their board. For example, requiring a forced marriage to the son and heir of the current king in order to prove their claim. Or any of the opposition to the current regime could use her living existence to begin revolution in Selicia again 'on her behalf', even if she didn't instigate it. "I believe," said Ilena, "this is why Izana has only watched me, to see what I would do. To have claimed me too early would have likely removed me from either of your boards, leaving no possibilities for me to be of use to Clarines." She lifted her chin and almost glared at him. Again he was reminded of a falcon who wouldn't submit. "I've spent every moment of my life since you were born proving to Izana that I will stand where I will stand and I will make my own space. I can no longer do that alone, because you've picked me up. You now must decide where you'll place me. And from that place, I will do all I can, until the board shifts again."

She'd had her say. He'd received all the proof but the final visual proof, and it hardly seemed necessary. He'd reached a level of overload he'd never had before in his life. Ilena looked at him with the sad smile that he'd seen in her eyes when he walked in. She held out her hand to him, "Will you come here, Zen?" He stared at the hand and it beckoned again. He took a breath, then took the hand.

She pulled him to her, then reached up and gently took the back of his head and pulled him down to her shoulder. "You, Zen, are a Prince. You've spent all of your effort through all of your life to be the Prince you want to be. Even a Prince needs to lay his burdens down, either all at once for a very brief time, or one here, a little there, until it can be taken back up. In this moment, just for a breath of time, there will be no judgement. There is only Zen, and only his cousin to say, 'I love you, Zen. I have always loved you. You are a wonderful person who loves well, and who is well loved'."

Zen's knees buckled, and he went down onto them beside the bed, his head on her shoulder, her arm holding him, comforting him. Her warmth flowed into him, and the spaces that he'd kept strong for too long melted.

Zen's body shuddered, regular tremors that went through him from toe to head. He didn't shed tears. He wasn't grieving. He was releasing the great burdens that had been upon him for very long, and the equally great burden that had just been explained to him. The tremors finally slowed and he was able to breathe deeper breaths and release the remainder in that manner. When he was ready he resisted Ilena and she gently released his head, caressing it lightly as her hand slipped past it on his rising. He remained on his knees, his hands going to rest on them. He took one last cleansing breath, and they looked at each other.

"That's good. You're eyes are clearer, your face calmer," Ilena smiled. He looked at her, feeling the peace within himself. "Carry that peace with you. Claim it as your right to maintain. It will shield you. A thing that comes to you to disturb that peace should be given to someone else to deal with. It's not in it's rightful place. A thing that you must deal with will enter that peace and not disturb it, but will show itself to you as a thing that you can deal with. In this way you'll learn the proper balance. If it's a thing you don't know where to place, reach for your supports and ask. If it still resonates in a way you don't understand, ask the question, 'who must deal with this?' Then you'll know. Sometimes you'll take up a thing simply because you wish to. Beware of those and don't take up more than one, or at most two, at a time."

She let him ponder, merely keeping him company with his thoughts. Then he rose to his feet, dusting off his pant legs. "I'll get Shirayuki to come and help."

Ilena nodded and Zen went to the door and opened it. "Shirayuki, please come in." When she entered, he closed the door behind them again. "Shirayuki, there's a thing I need to see. Will you please help me lift Ilena so I may see her back? If you could stay in front of her, to protect her modesty, I'll stay behind her."

Shirayuki was mystified, but agreed to help. She straddled Ilena and reached under her arms and around her. Ilena smiled gently at Shirayuki then wrapped her arms around her as Zen lifted Ilena's shoulders from behind. In the end, it looked like Shirayuki and Ilena were hugging, and Ilena didn't mind at all.

Ilena was wearing a wrapped top that tied on the left side so that her wounds could be easily seen and cleaned. Zen carefully untied the ties, then pulled the top away from her back. When Shirayuki became uncomfortable, Ilena tightened her hug slightly. "It's okay," she whispered in Shirayuki's ear. "It's a thing the King needs to know, and only Zen can do it." Shirayuki hugged her and buried her face in Ilena's neck so she wouldn't have to see Zen's face.

Ilena was just as glad, for Zen decided at that moment that he needed to touch the marks to verify them with his hands, not just his eyes. She shuddered and almost swooned, biting off the moan that threatened to escape. It felt like deep grief mixed with deep desire, and she could feel the tears trying to rise up from her heart and through her throat to reach her eyes. With this, she was caught. As bound tightly as if she were a newly caught falcon, trussed with tight bonds so that it couldn't wound itself fighting for freedom, being placed in the cage and readied for transport to the mews. (1)

Ilena shuddered again. Zen, noticing, relaced the ties of her top gently, then he carefully knelt on the bed behind her and wrapped his arms around both Ilena and Shirayuki, holding them both close to him, sandwiching Ilena. Shirayuki looked up at him in surprise to see the saddest expression she'd ever seen on his face. Ilena's sobs finally broke through. Because Zen was behind Ilena to support her, Shirayuki moved her hand to hold Ilena's head close to her, unknowingly imitating the very hold that Ilena used to comfort all those who she'd ever comforted, thus winning for herself the heart of Ilena.

Zen leaned his head forward and touched Shirayuki's forehead with with his own, then he kissed her. He raised the hand opposite where Ilena's head was resting on Shirayuki's shoulder and gently brushed Shirayuki's beautiful red hair back from her face. He still was sad of face, and her eyes searched it for understanding. "I can't tell you yet, nor any of the others, until my brother and I speak and I know what I may do. I'm sorry. I will tell you that she's been marked. Because I know it, she is no longer free. As long as she lives from here on, she will either be mine or my brother's, unless we cast her off, and we won't do that. She is too precious. ...I want her to be mine, and she has told me that is also the desire of her heart."

He could see Shirayuki's eyes start to panic. He put his hand on her cheek and shook his head. "She claims Obi. That is, she's given her heart to Obi. I also wish to give this desire to her, but Obi must come to accept it." At Zen's words, Ilena shuddered again and a keening noise came from her, as of a falcon calling forlornly for a mate it couldn't find. Then she was still.

Shirayuki remembered that Ilena had also said the same thing to her, that she desired to stand by Obi. She remembered that she herself had laid claim to Ilena at the garrison. "At the garrison, I said to you that I desired Ilena to stand with Obi by my side. Have you finished testing her? Do you have an answer?"

Zen thought on that a moment, absently playing with a strand of Shirayuki's hair lightly. Then he looked her in the eye. "She'll stand there until I've spoken with my brother. Thereafter, what we've done up until then will decide whether she may stay or if he'll take her for himself."

"What we have done?" Shirayuki sucked in a breath of surprise, her eyes round.

Zen nodded. "All of us who wish to have her remain in that place must help her to remain, in the same way we work to make it possible for you to stand next to me."

Shirayuki understood. "I'll do my part."

Zen smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Kiss her again, idiot, or I'll do it for you," came Ilena's muffled, irritated order. They both started in surprise. "No, seriously."

Zen smiled. Shirayuki went beet red, but Zen reached across to take her head in his hand and kissed her gently and long. "Thank you, Shirayuki," he said to her, putting their foreheads together again. "Please be patient with me in this. There may be many things you can't understand because I can't tell them to you. I'll tell them to you as soon as I can."

"I know, Zen. I'll wait," Shirayuki reassured him faithfully.

He gently released her, then slid back and together they helped Ilena lie back down. She had her eyes closed and tears still occasionally slipped out from under her lids. Zen softly put his hand on her head, then took Shirayuki's hand in his. "How goes the recovery?" he asked her.

Shirayuki bit her lower lip. "It's as you just saw. She can sit up if someone else helps her up. The bone shouldn't have that done often just yet. She still has three or four more days before it can regularly bear weight, and it will have to be slowly worked. There is no function in the muscle. As of now, she won't walk again."

Zen was not happy with the news. Wheeled chairs were not unknown, and he could have one made for her, but it would be much better if she could walk again. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"There is only one possibility I know of," Ilena answered.

They turned to look at her. She slowly turned her head and opened her reddened eyes to look at them. "Go to the old man at the gate who asks for 'the Missus'. Tell him to send for the surgical researcher, Doctor Elliot. He has the knowledge and the skill to find a way. If there is anything that will let me walk again so I may stand in the place I wish, I'll do it. Even if it means I must do this all over again." Zen looked at her seriously for a moment, then nodded.

Ilena closed her eyes again. "Zen, when you're ready to plan your strategy to capture the Earl, please bring your maps and come speak to me. He'll run to one of his holes and you need to know where they are. ...Obi's returned from gathering the circle. If you're ready for them, I'll give you the names for the triangle, though I hope you'll wait a sufficient time before sending him away again."

Zen wanted to refuse her, then he remembered Obi had said for her it was a reward, or an equal exchange. She had comforted him. They had comforted her. She had given up her freedom. He...they...had promised to do what they could to giver her her dreams. Those had been the same, but she had given first, and they had chosen how they would respond on their own. He had said he would send for the surgeon. ...She was offering more information right now, even though it was a difficult time for her. He gave up his pride.

He stepped to the desk and got out paper and a pen. "I'm ready." He wrote as she listed eight names and their corresponding locations, again two for each of the cases. He put the pen down and put the paper inside his jacket. He stopped by the side of her bed again and briefly put his hand on her head one more time. "Thank you, Ilena. Please rest now." He took Shirayuki's hand and walked with her to the door. There he turned to her and took her into an embrace. He didn't know what he wanted to say.

She held him in return. "I'll look after her."

After a time, he said, "Thank you." He released her, his hand lingering on hers, then he turned and, putting his public face back on, left the room.

-o-o-o-

Zen led Mitsuhide and Kiki away from Ilena's room, headed towards his office. He stopped suddenly, considering. He changed direction and headed for the study room where the majority of the young lords and heirs spent most of their days. _This is still an interesting trip_ , Mitsuhide's eyes said to Kiki. When they arrived, Zen strode purposely through it to the central atrium and up the stairs to the second floor landing. Turning to face the room in general, he look around. All of his behavior was calculated to get the attention of the persons in the room, and he had it. After all, this kind of entrance by the master of the palace had only one reason - someone was being called up.

"I'm looking for the eldest son of Earl Malkin. Is he present?" Zen asked in a carrying voice.

A murmur went through the room as the word was spread to the more distant parts of it. People looked around to see if the person in question would appear, then footsteps could be heard coming from a distant part of the upper level. People went back to work, but continued to pay attention. A well portioned young man with slightly wavy brown hair and carrying a folder appeared from behind a set of shelves, looked around, then came towards Zen. He bowed. "I am Earl Malkin's eldest son, Tairn. How may I serve?"

Zen looked at him. He looked to be in his upper twenties, near Mitsuhide's age, and had clear, honest eyes. "Who are you studying under?"

"Earl Wexley, Department of Interior."

 _Perfect_. "Please inform Earl Wexley that you've been reassigned to Miss Kiki, in my office. You may have time to complete your current task, or to pass it on to another in your department. Please come to my office as soon as you're able, but no later than the day after tomorrow."

Tairn bowed again, "Yes, your Highness." He left immediately to carry out his new orders.

Zen turned towards his aides and pondered some more. Kiki, a little cautiously, asked, "You'll pick another landed heir?" She was concerned that Zen would have to go through what he was going through with her all over again.

Zen shook his head. "You'll train him, and when his younger brother is able to join us, you'll have Tairn train him under your supervision. Then, when you're not here, there will be the two who are necessary to fill the strength of the one Kiki. You'll train the younger to be able to do the work of two so that when Tairn must also return, he is able to stand in the position of Kiki."

Kiki blinked. It was a well considered plan. "Then what shall be left for me to do? Shall I consider myself no longer needed?"

"No, of course not." Zen wasn't going to let her go that easily.

"I have two stacks on my desk I'd be happy to pass on to Kiki," Mitsuhide said dryly.

Zen nodded, "Indeed." He considered a little longer, then came to a decision. He turned, walked down the stairs and led them back to his office. On the way, he stopped in at the office of the chatelaine, keeper of the keys for the castle, and made a brief request. "Please open the office across the hall from my office, for immediate use." As soon as the order was acknowledged, he was gone.

When they arrived at his office, he went directly to Mitsuhide's desk. Placing a hand on a stack, he asked, "Each stack is ordered by subject?" Mitsuhide nodded. Zen proceeded to pick up the top report of each stack, skim it, then replace it. One tall stack, one medium stack, and one short stack were pushed to the side. He turned to Mitsuhide again, placing his hand on top of the tallest selected stack. "Take these to Lord Nedlow. Show him an example of the sort of summary I require, see that he understands, and return."

Mitsuhide, for him meaning he only showed it slightly, was in shock. Lord Nedlow was one of the previous regent's aides, having served in her office. He had retired to a lesser office when Zen had come, as was typical with a change of leadership. "You'll bring him out of retirement?"

Zen nodded. "I can no longer afford to waste trained talent. Please also inform him he will from tomorrow be working in the Rosebud Office." This was the official name of the office across the hall from Zen's office, which was known as the Rose Office.

Mitsuhide bowed. "Yes."

Zen moved across to Kiki's desk, asking as he went, "What is your organization?"

She paused. In her case she would be training someone to think as she thinks. "You may consider it the same." The top file would be sufficient.

Zen also went through her stacks and pulled out three medium level stacks. "Have Tairn assist you with these to begin with."

She nodded, and turned to clear space for him on the desk next to hers, which she had been using as additional workspace. While she did that, Zen gave orders for his four lesser aides in the office to prepare themselves for moving to the Rosebud Office, which was larger than the Rose Office.

"Do I get to lose some of my stacks, too, Master?" Obi sounded hopeful.

Zen turned around, surprised that Obi had been in the room, as he thought he would still be on break. He must have been hidden by his own stacks. "No, I don't think so."

Obi had walked up behind Zen to come talk to him, but when Zen turned around to face him, Obi suddenly stopped and stared at him. His hand started to rise slowly, as if to reach out and touch Zen. Then he caught himself and put his hand to his mouth instead in embarrassment. Zen looked at him, wondering what was going on with his oddly sensitive sworn man. His eyes wide, Obi said in wonder, "Master has been touched by Miss Ilena!"

"How would you know such a thing?" Zen asked him, not wanting to admit it.

"Those who have been held by Mother become hers and are filled with her light. Master's own light is very bright, but her light is on you now, also." Zen smiled, thinking briefly of his visit with Ilena. "...But, Master carries the shadow, too. Master is also sad for Miss Ilena."

"What do you do to remove the shadow, Obi? Do you know?" Zen asked.

"You tell them she is alive," he said with surety, looking directly at Zen.

Zen thought about what Obi had said. _Ilena is alive_. She'd survived the massacre of her parents and her father's family and had walked with only one servant from Selicia to Clarines. She'd chosen exile, risen to the highest level she could in her adopted home, under the very oppressive Earl, constantly under the threat of death herself, yet still had survived. She'd even lived through the rockslide. Through it all, Ilena had lived, and lived with strength and purpose. _She is still alive. As long as Ilena is alive, she will live with strength and purpose, regardless of what may come_. Zen did feel better, as if he himself had been strengthened by thinking of Ilena's strength. He looked back up at Obi.

Obi smiled at him. "See? It even worked for Master."

Zen considered for a moment. "If I allowed you to tell one of her people she was alive, would they betray her?"

Obi shook his head. "None would. She has protected each and all of them. They will do the same for her. Do we not fiercely protect the things we love?"

Zen understood. He was ready now to give Obi his orders. "You've learned which lesser gate the old man Ilena has asked after comes to?"

"The Pelican Gate."

 _How appropriate_. (2) "Go and speak to him. Give him this message: 'Mother, with the permission of the Regent, sends for the surgery researcher, Doctor Elliot.' I want him here as soon as he can get here. … And, I won't be angry if you choose to remove the shadow."

As Obi headed out the French doors and lept down from the balcony, Zen turned to his own desk. There were many things that only he could do - approvals and signatures among them. There were things he wanted to do, like read reports his other aides had already read so that he would understand the workings of the region. And there were things that others asked him to do. He needed to sit down with them and sort them into stacks of level of importance and confirm which ones he really needed to touch versus things he could either get summaries of or really should be handled by others. His real goal was to raise everyone up one notch in power, giving his closest aides the full power to act in the name of the Regent and directly handle those things that didn't actually require his own complete attention. He'd brought Lord Nedlow out of retirement not just because he needed another pair of hands. He'd done it so the practiced aide could complete the training of the new office aides that he'd brought in. "Kiki, send a messenger to Lord Nedlow. When he and Mitsuhide are done, and he's prepared to move, I would like to speak with him directly."

Zen moved to the balcony and looked out over the castle grounds and out over the city, the Northern mountains rising in the distance a little to his right. But he wasn't looking at them. He was crafting a very important letter in his mind. He wished he could use Mitsuhide for this, the same as he did for the majority of his correspondence, but this would have to come from his own hand. This was something only he could do, something he must do, and must do today.

-o-o-o-

When Mitsuhide arrived back at the Rose Office, Zen was working on his fifth draft of his message to Izana, his forehead creased in frustration and concentration. Mitsuhide recognized the problem, if not the cause. Zen always looked that way when he was trying to write his own correspondence. He raised an eyebrow at Kiki. _What's going on? Should I offer to help?_ He probably shouldn't since Zen hadn't looked up in relief when he came in, as he usually would.

Kiki said, quietly, "Mitsuhide, will you come look at this for me?" Zen still didn't look up at the mention of his aide's name. Mitsuhide's other eyebrow went up and he walked over to Kiki's desk and leaned down, 'looking' at the document Kiki had in front of her. She spoke to him very quietly. They'd gotten good at talking quiet enough privately if Zen was so tightly distracted, but he would hear if his distraction ended. "Obi said Zen's been 'touched' by Miss Ilena, that he 'carries' both his own 'light' and now her 'light'. Zen didn't deny it."

They both had seen in his back they watched so carefully and knew so well, that he'd left burdens behind when he'd come out of Miss Ilena's room. They had expected that only if she wasn't the missing princess. But his actions after that said that something else had happened in addition to proving who she was. He was acting with increased strength. Obi's words were the clue to that, they were sure. Miss Ilena had done something in that private meeting to support Zen in a very positive way. Mitsuhide gave Kiki a puzzled look. _But does that mean she is or isn't the missing princess?_

Kiki shrugged. "Obi was sent to tell Miss Ilena's man to fetch the surgeon. And...Zen said it was okay for him to let them know she's alive." In one fell swoop, in one private meeting, Zen trusted her, and all her people with her. He believed her. She'd told him the truth about her past, and he'd received the witness he needed to completely believe her, and her motives, whatever they were. While it didn't prove whether or not she was the princess, if she'd had the definite proof to say she was, that would be far more convincing for such a sudden change in Zen. _Then it's time for me, for us, to test her_ , Mitsuhide's set expression said.

"Since that time, Zen has thought very hard about the message he's trying to write. Even still," Kiki told him. Which meant it was both a very important message and to a very important person. He was trying to word it right to get the best outcome for what he wanted. ...But he wouldn't, or couldn't ask for assistance. The only thing he wouldn't talk to them about right now was the matter he took to his mother, the matter he discussed with Miss Ilena herself. It therefore must be a letter about Miss Ilena and what he learned from the proof he gained and what she admitted herself.

If she were not the princess, it wouldn't be important to send a letter to anyone about it. If she were the princess, he would be constrained to inform the King immediately. If he merely wished to inform the King about her existence, the letter would have required no more effort that his usual dictation took. He was working very hard to keep something he wanted. Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at each other. _The only conclusion is that Miss Ilena is the missing princess, she supports Zen, and Zen wants to keep her by his side_.

Mitsuhide sighed. _Another burden for Zen to worry about. And he can't ask us for support, because he can't let us know until he hears from King Izana. So we'll have to support him as best we can without requiring him to tell us_. He nodded. "I think I need to talk with Shirayuki." _We'll all need to support him. And I want to know what went on in that room after she was called in_.

Kiki nodded, "And Obi." _I'll talk to him. There are things he may know_.

Mitsuhide straightened up. "Ah, Mitsuhide, you're back? What do you guys want to talk to Shirayuki and Obi about?" Zen had finished his letter the best he could. He always heard Shirayuki's name when it was mentioned, though.

"Your birthday present," Kiki said. Mitsuhide was proud of her. She always had the best immediate answers to distract Zen from what they were actually talking about. She could get away with it because of her straight face.

His tactic was to completely turn the conversation around to what Zen was supposed to be doing instead. "Lord Nedlow says that he'll be able to come meet with you within another hour." Mitsuhide moved away from Kiki's desk. "You were working very hard when I came in."

"It's a letter to my brother. I always have to work hard on them." Zen stretched. "We'll go to the aviary now, then, if Lord Nedlow will be here at that time." _It's important enough he needs to get it sent without delay_.

"Do you need both of us?" Mitsuhide asked.

"No," answered Zen. "Do you have something to do?"

"Yes," answered Mitsuhide. For once he answered a straight answer like Kiki. "I have to go pick out your birthday present." _We'll give you what you need. You don't have to ask us._ Kiki and Zen both raised eyebrows at him, but he was as serious as ever, not showing the open face he would have shown at a lie.

"Very well," answered a mystified Zen, and Kiki rose to follow Zen out the door.

Mitsuhide went to the castle pharmacy, looking for Shirayuki. She had a patient in the outer office and was in the laboratory working on making up a poultice. "Shirayuki? Do you have a moment? I don't want to interrupt. You can talk while working if you like, or I can wait."

"Mitsuhide! I can be with you in five minutes, if you like." He nodded his thanks, then went to take his 'turn in line'.

Shirayuki came out and finished with her current patient, then invited Mitsuhide into her office, looking up at him curiously.

"Shirayuki, since this morning Zen's been acting strange. Will you tell me what happened in Miss Ilena's room this afternoon?" It wasn't the first time he'd asked such a thing of her, so it shouldn't be a strange question to her. She understood that Mitsuhide took his responsibility of being Zen's guardian very seriously.

"Mmm… When he called me in, he asked me to hold her sitting up so he could look at her back. I don't know what he was looking for, but he told me after he'd seen it,..." she was starting to blush. Mitsuhide found that interesting, but she blushed at a lot of things. Did it mean she was feeling a bit jealous that Zen had looked at the bare back of another woman in her presence? She should be, or should have. "...that he couldn't tell me or any of us about it. Only that Ilena's been marked, and he was required to see the mark himself for King Izana's sake."

She looked concerned. "He said that because she's marked she's 'no longer free', that as long as she lives she must be either his or his brothers and that she's too precious to be cast off. This makes him very sad. I don't understand why, but he loves her. He wants to keep her by his side, and she also wants to stand at his side. But her heart is Obi's, and he would give her to him if Obi would decide to accept it. ...He's promised that he'll explain it to all of us, after he's talked to King Izana and he knows what he may do."

Shirayuki shifted. Mitsuhide felt bad for her. It was good Zen had promised he would explain himself and explained when he'd be able to. He at least seemed to be getting better at communicating such things with Shirayuki. "At the garrison, I asked for her to be assigned as Obi's partner, knowing that she loves him. Zen said that he would test her." Mitsuhide remembered and nodded. "I asked him if he'd completed testing her; if he had an answer for me. He said that she would stand with Obi beside me until he speaks with King Izana. After that time, what we've done to help her remain in that place will decide whether she may stay or if King Izana will take her for himself."

She looked at Mitsuhide. "While there are things I don't understand, I know that Zen will tell them to me when he can. I know that his love for Ilena doesn't lessen his love for me. He was very careful to let me know this." Mitsuhide was very relieved to know Zen had appropriately conveyed this. "I wish to support his desires. I've told him that I'll do my part to help her remain in the place Zen puts her."

Mitsuhide had heard more than enough to confirm his and Kiki's suspicions. He understood why Zen would love Miss Ilena, but he didn't know how to help Shirayuki to understand also. As long as her own strength could support her, it would be okay. "Thank you, Shirayuki. You've been very helpful. If Zen's decided this thing, we'll stand to support him, and we'll wait until he can tell us." Mitsuhide both was agreeing with her and setting down the law for those who loved the Prince. He bowed and left her standing there, her hand clutching her heart.

As they walked to their quarters at the end of the day, Mitsuhide told Kiki what he'd learned from Shirayuki. "The proof was a thing Miss Ilena couldn't have done herself. He's seen it with his own eyes. Zen's decided he'll do all he can to keep her by his side, and desires us to help him do it. Until he speaks with King Izana, he can't of himself confirm it to us."

Kiki looked up into her thoughts. "This is a thing we need to understand."

Mitsuhide knew she was saying, _We need to know Miss Ilena for ourselves, or we can't support Zen correctly._ He nodded. _My thoughts exactly._ "Have you spoken with Obi yet?"

"No. Not yet." It would happen as soon as there was an opportunity available.

"Perhaps together, then," Mitsuhide said. Kiki nodded.

* * *

 _(1) mews - The place where birds of prey are kept when they are in captivity and used for hunting._

 _(2) The pelican is a symbol of selfless service. He is referencing how he feels about Ilena and her role in his life until this time._


	13. Digging Down Deeper

_This is a meaty chapter that gets pretty deep._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 13 Digging Down Deeper**

Obi stretched. He was done for the night. Not that he was caught up, but that was all he was going to get done without anyone else in the room to help him. It really wasn't fair that they got decreased loads while he was still playing catch-up. So what if he was a junior aide? Ah, well. At least he was able to do his part to help Master.

He still had a little over an hour before it was time to sit with Ilena. He thought about going to get a drink, then remembered that he'd thought of a question brought about by Ilena's answer to Master's question. To get the answer, he needed to visit the library. He stood, put out the remaining lights in the office and headed to the library.

He went to the foreign affairs section and found a book that looked like it would answer his question, _Historical Summary of the Leadership and Politics of Selicia_. It was the only book he could find that would be helpful. There weren't many books there on Selicia, actually. He flipped through it until he reached the era from right around his birth. Then he looked through it backwards until he found the answer he was looking for - how he and Ilena might be related. It was no wonder they looked similar, her being of Selicia, and him being related by that Great-ancestor, also of Selicia.

He held the book for a moment. What about her story of the political upheaval she'd lived through. Was it in this book also? He went back to the page roughly at about his birth and began to read forward. But before he could even get to the section that should talk about the coup, he was brought up short. He sat up so straight in surprise he nearly stood up. _What?! The Queen Mother had a sister? Who married into the royal house of Selicia?_ He quickly read the few following pages. They did indeed talk about the coup that happened eight years later. And it said that the entire house of the Polov royal family was killed in that revolution. _Even the Queen Mother's sister_. He read a little more, but it didn't say anything about it being caused by the neighboring country, Tarc. Nor did it hint that the current ruling family was a puppet family of Tarc. How had Ilena known that? Who had the correct information? Ilena or this book?

While he puzzled on that, he flipped idly through the remaining pages. Really there wasn't much. It had been written a few years ago, after all. Then he stopped. At the back of the book was a genealogy of the kings of Selicia. Mostly it was names and dates - marriages, children, their birth dates. But every so often there were pictures that had been copied from paintings hanging in the castle of Selicia. Here was the face of that Great-Grandfather. It looked just like his own Grandfather. He touched it reverently.

That page went another generation. He flipped the page and hissed a breath through his teeth. It was a two page spread of the most recent Polov royals, and all their pictures. At the top left was the King at the time of Obi's birth, King Raould Polov. His wife, Queen Sari and their marriage date. Under them were pictures of their children, in various ages of childhood, none of them adults, and their birth dates. Crown Prince Matthai, First Princess Attilia, Second Prince Grail who's picture was that of an infant. In the middle was the King's second brother, Prince Reide Polov, his wife Princess Natalia, and their marriage date, and penciled in, the name of a son, Prince Liam, born less than a year before the coup, and no picture. On the right, the King's second brother, Prince Raoul Polov, his wife Princess Tatiana Wisteria and their marriage date, and their daughter, Princess Thailena Wisteria Polov and her birth date, the picture showing a young girl who looked just like her father. Penciled in for all of them was a death date, the same one. The date of the coup.

Obi ran his finger very gently over the picture of Princess Tatiana Wisteria. She stood out with her white hair and blue eyes, so unlike the rest of the family. She was as beautiful as Izana, but with long hair. What a treasure for the Wisteria family to have given up and then lost. He moved his finger down to the daughter. A Wisteria who looked like a Polov, a Selician. His finger traced over the first name. Thailena. _Ilena_. Was it? He looked at the birthdate and calculated. It fit, but he wanted more evidence. The records could only say they were all dead.

He snapped the book closed and went to find the Clarines history section. After a bit of searching he found the equivalent book for the Clarines royal family and political history summary. He opened it up and flipped to the back. It ended with the reign of Zen and Izana's father, and his death. Obi figured the next book was still being written. It, too, ended with the family genealogy, showing that Zen's grandfather had only had two daughters. His oldest, the Queen Mother Haruto Wisteria had married Zen's father, apparently a noble, and had Izana and Zen. His second daughter, the same Princess Tatiana, had married the same Prince Raoul Polov. And they had had a daughter, Thailena Wisteria Polov, born the same date. Again, the death date of the revolution had been penciled in, but only for the parents. There was no death date for the daughter.

Obi flipped back into the history and read the section that talked about the birth of Izana, the marriage of Tatiana to Raoul, the birth one and a half years later of their daughter. A brief mention of the royal visit of Tatiana's mother to Selicia to celebrate the birth of her granddaughter, less than a year after her husband had died and two months after she had turned the reigns of the kingdom over to her son-in-law. Then, the birth of Zen. _Oh, May! That's very soon! Should I get him a present?_ Then he stopped again. He read it three times before remembering to breathe. The Third Prince of Selicia had come with his wife and five year old daughter to the celebration of Prince Zen's birth, returning by way of the Earldom of Farmore to 'renew and celebrate common relations across the border and to resolidify the peace between the two countries'.

He was so stunned he had to keep reading to hold himself together. Two years later, some distance into the book since it was Clarines' history, was the mention of the coup in Selicia, brief and with a focus on Princess Tatiana and her family. It told that she and her husband had been found dead, murdered just inside the Clarines' border, their heads removed but the bodies left behind. _Ah, poor Ilena_ , he sighed. 'There was no sign of their daughter with them', the book went on to say. 'It is unknown if she died in Selicia or went missing, though the new government of Selicia claimed she was also dead. The relationship between countries since that time has been strained.' _No doubt!_

Obi closed the book. He leaned back, closing his eyes. In his hands were two books. In his heart were two memories. There could be no doubt. Ilena was the Princess Thailena Wisteria Polov. He started to laugh. It explained so much about her, about her personality, her strength, why she made him think of King Brother, even why everyone who loved her was filled with light. She, also, carried the light of Wisteria in her, and the love for and of the people of Clarines. He wouldn't be at all surprised if she carried a similar love for the people of Selicia.

He paused. Master would also know about Ilena. He would find out, the same way he'd found out Obi was Wellesley College. She was a rare treasure he would want to keep. But he would have to tell King Brother. Would she be a rare enough treasure the King would claim her? ...It was possible. Did Master already know? ...He would ask tomorrow. For now, he was running late. He stood up and headed for Ilena's room, taking both books with him. He wouldn't talk to Ilena about it yet. If Master didn't know yet, he, Obi, shouldn't. Besides, it was Ilena's to tell, wasn't it?

His steps slowed. A princess of two realms wanted _him_. He, Obi. She'd claimed him when she was five. Her father, a Prince, had given her permission to have him, after he was grown and strong enough. It was no wonder he'd said it that way. One did not give a Princess someone who couldn't protect her. But, one also did not refuse a princess, particularly a doting father of a prince, when it was in their power to give it. Did his brother hate him, continue to chase after him, believe he would return for her, because he knew she was a princess? Had he kept her alive for the same reason? Allowed her to rule the house so she would learn to rule a nation? ...What power had he thought he could gain from his little brother marrying the First Princess of Clarines, the only remaining heir to the throne of Selicia? Obi's blood ran cold and he shivered and held his arms close about himself. Earl College didn't want him dead. He wanted him very much alive, and very much under his control.

Obi leaned against the closest wall, dropping to sit on the floor, his arms wrapped even tighter around himself. The Earl knew Obi was Wellesley. He hadn't presented himself in person when he and Mistress were at the Earldom, but that didn't mean he didn't know when they left and headed out to Osterly. He'd told the assassin to let them pass. He'd ordered his wife and Ilena back on the same day so that Obi would have no choice but to meet her when the group was attacked and Ilena was injured. He'd known Mistress would stay to help the injured and he knew Obi followed Mistress. Obi shivered again. Ilena had been severely injured on purpose. And he'd planned it far enough in advance that he could tell Ilena three months beforehand to 'stay alive'. What was his plan? Why did he want them together, now? And not under his control? Ilena had said she was free of the Earl. Was doing everything she could to remove the Earl and his ability to control them. What did she not know? She didn't know the Earl knew she was the princess. But that wasn't enough to answer the question.

Obi couldn't see it. Ilena didn't know it. If he told Master, would he be able to understand it? Obi didn't know. First, he had to know if Master already knew she was the princess. And...he had to know how Ilena knew he was Wellesly. If he knew how she knew, and when she figured it out, maybe he would know when it was his brother had found out. Maybe in that story would be the clue he needed. He stood up and ran to Ilena's room.

-o-o-o-

"I'm sorry I'm late, Ryuu," he panted.

"That's alright. ...Are you okay?"

Obi waved his hand. "Just wanted to get here as soon as I could," he pasted on his friendly smile.

"You look a little pale." Ryuu was very good at seeing slight symptoms.

"It's just lack of sleep. I'm still trying to catch up from being gone five days. There are many tall stacks of work on Obi's desk."

"Well, okay. Do get enough rest. Good night." Ryuu was nearly already asleep on his feet and he wove his way down the hall. Obi wondered if he'd make it back, glad it was a short distance.

Obi took a deep breath, then entered Ilena's room, his heart beating loudly. He was afraid. She was awake again. "Still not sleeping well?" he asked right away.

"No. Only when you're here." It was said with calm honesty. _Yeah, I'm not surprised_. "Desk work again?"

"Yes. I'd like to get caught up soon. Like before I have to be gone again." *Ba-Dump* ...would he be safe outside the castle? _Stupid, I was this last time. I know how to be careful. And the rest of the Family will continue to watch over me_. That was a startling self-revelation and he played with it a moment. _Ilena protects them, she protects me_. Did she tell them all to protect him, too? Is that why they know him and what he looks like? He felt the certainty of it as deep as he felt the certainty his brother knew who he was. He shook himself. It seemed to be a night of answers and they were all stunning. Literally. He felt like he was having rocks thrown at him. What should be first? The Family. "Master sent me to talk to Grandfather today." The old man at the gate had told Obi to call him that. It surely meant he was as important to Ilena and the Family as she'd said he was.

"Haahh. That's good." She didn't sound surprised, though. Obi wondered if that was some sort of clue he was missing.

"Master said he wouldn't be angry if I told him - the Family - that you were alive so their shadow could be lifted. ...That was after I lifted Master's shadow. ...You touched Master today. I could see it." It was an accusation.

"Can you see it now, Obi?"

"Yes, Thayne taught me. The runners, Henry and Marcus, taught me what the shadow meant, but I couldn't lift it from them. Master hadn't yet allowed me to speak it, but today he allowed it, and I told Grandfather so that they may be full of light again." He paused. He really wanted to know. "Why did you touch Master today? Why did he allow it?"

Ilena sighed. "He came to me today and asked a question. The answer was hard for him to bear. So hard, I needed to take it back from him and help him learn how to carry it."

 _Master knows. Miss Ilena told him today. This is why he suddenly trusts her and allowed me to speak to Grandfather. I'll be able to talk to Master_.

"He won't speak of it to you."

 _Wait, what?_ "Why?"

"He must speak to his brother, Izana, before he can know if he can speak of it to anyone. It's a matter of the King."

 _That's true. But what I have to say is also. ... I'll take it to Master, if he can't come to me._

She continued, "I'm glad you 've told them, Obi. It lifts the shadow from me as well. Thank you."

Obi had offered his side. Now he could ask from her. "Why do you believe that I'm Wellesley College?" His voice came out rougher than intended from all the fear and emotions he felt.

There was a long pause. Then, "Obi. Will you come hold my hand while I tell the story? I'm in need of human contact, I'm afraid."

Was it that, or was she sensing his own fear? He decided it didn't matter. He could afford that price to hear the answer. He walked over, taking the chair with him. He sat, barely able to see her with the faint light coming from under the well-made door of the castle. He reached out, found her arm, then moved his hand down it until he found her hand. She shuddered slightly, but grasped his hand firmly.

He listened quietly as she told him that over the years she'd spent a lot of time and effort to find him, learning how to listen to the underworld network, and how put together a network of helpful people on the top-side as well. It was from the underworld side that strongest potential matches came from, but it was hard to keep ahead of the Earl on that side. He was looking for Wellesley on that network as well. But it was the job where his life nearly ended where she learned for sure. He'd been careful to not take any jobs that the House of College had put out requests for, and that one hadn't had the name on it anywhere. They'd been an observing and participating house, nonetheless.

"The plan was really his - joining in with a House he normally wouldn't have that he thought you might also without advertising his involvement. He figured he'd get you trapped eventually if he kept narrowing down his search, weeding out each possibility as he went. He was quite certain he'd get you in that one, as was I, and he nearly did."

Ilena explained that she and the surgeon went along on that trip as medical support staff. The Earl knew heavy drug users were involved, and he wanted his men to be able to keep up, but they had instructions that if Obi was found, let him die or kill him. The Earl didn't really care that there wasn't solid evidence that Obi was Wellesley, he'd just been the last one that could be Wellesley on the list and had been the hardest to entrap. So Ilena had done her job, but kept careful look-out for him. She knew who she was looking for based on the description from the information network.

Both she and the Earl had seen Obi on the field at the same time. The Earl had sent in instructions for those supporting Obi to pull back just enough to let him fall. Ilena had just the right chance to get word to a couple of people obviously Obi's allies to go help him. They'd arrived barely in time to deflect the final killing blow and take out his opponent, but he'd already received the wound.

"When you went off to die, or live if fortune smiled on you, the Earl ordered you followed and watched to see if you died. By then everyone was tired and wounded. One did get up and follow you, but he was lazy. He watched you until you fainted, then counted that good and came back to report you dead. Elliot managed to make a sufficient diversion so that I could slip away and track you also. I found you in the hiding place you'd dragged yourself into. I assumed you hadn't been unconscious long after you fainted, but you were again when I got there. I was very glad we'd played hide and seek when we were young. I knew exactly what kind of hiding place to look for."

"I'd had enough experience working with Elliot that I knew what to do to bandage you, but not enough to do a full and proper job. It was very frustrating." Obi put his free hand to his chest. He had always wondered who had found him in that hiding place and bandaged him. "If I could have, I would have sent him after you, but he wouldn't have found you, and the Earl would have noticed right away he was gone. I also had to work quickly, since the Earl would know I'd gone looking for you. ...As a matter of fact, he did come looking for me, making the first tracker bring him to where you'd fainted. I came out of hiding in a different location, looking as if I was also still searching for you. It took some verbal dodging, and he never really believed that I hadn't found you. But I think unconsciously he didn't want to know, since his reason for living would disappear if you were really dead."

 _No, Ilena_ , Obi thought sadly. _He wanted me alive. He let you go to find me for sure, but also to save me because he believed if you did, it meant I was Wellesley. To him that was enough proof._

"Of course, none of that really proved you were Wellesley. I'd had to leave you to fate as well, but you had a fighting chance as long as you weren't bleeding to death. So I kept all my information lines open waiting to hear if you'd made it. Imagine my surprise when a positive match came from southern Clarines. And then I was even more surprised that it came from the light side network that overlapped Prince Izana's network. I had someone watch you on detail for a while, learning about Prince Zen and Mistress Shirayuki's relationship, and how you relate to them."

Obi could tell that Ilena smiled. "That was the evidence I needed. No other College than Wellesley could walk into the darkness, then turn, see the light, and run towards it and grasp it with both hands. No other darkwalker would have wanted to. ...And none of the other Wellesley-candidates I saved did." _Wait. She saved all of 'us'? She continued to watch all of the possibilities until one acted in a way to confirm her expectations. That's why she was able to tell?_ "I don't know how it was that Zen found out who you really are, but I know he did...perhaps you told him. If it was to have been a test, no other test than the fact that he kept you would have been necessary." She paused. "But even more telling, was that you went back to him. Not just the first time, but every time. ...Though you stayed away from him the first time so long that I almost caught you in my web. But you managed to slip through it, and I wasn't sad. If anything, it blew the fire of my goals back into life."

Obi remembered that. That he had begun to feel something coming for him. His return to Master had been a choice, but it had also been an escape from that feeling. Why had she been trying to catch him...was it like what she'd done for the master stoneworker? Was she finally trying to ask him to be hers? He'd finally gone to find the light, so she thought he might be ready? ...He didn't ask.

"At the same time, because the Earl didn't have a light-side network, he couldn't know you were at the castle. He's been reverting to his old volatile state, a dying ember that glows dimly when a breeze blows by it. He's already a pawn worth throwing away. I wasn't sorry to be part of this current plan, though I really could have done without the final injury."

 _Her understanding is indeed different from what I see. Why does she see he's weak? She sees someone is controlling him? Or is it that she thinks she's been controlling him?_ "Is the Earl your pawn?"

"No."

 _The current plan. Which plan does she refer to?_ "What was the plan from the beginning?"

"He only ordered me to go, and if I could, to save myself. I had to figure out for myself what he might be planning. When he laughed, I wasn't sure if it was out of delight that he would finally be rid of several problems at once, or if it was just madness. Even if Zen doesn't kill him, he'll likely be dead by his own hand soon. Maybe he intends to die in the coming fight, going down fighting, rather than by a traitor's death meted out in court. That would be like him. Choosing to let the house of College go out in a blaze, taking out as many as possible with him, raging and delighting in the bloody chaos as his eyes close for the last time."

She paused again. "I was glad the boulder didn't kill me. It meant I could keep walking towards my goal. However, currently I'm blocked from reaching my ultimate goal, not being able to walk or run again. I know it doesn't have to be so. I already have someone who can fix this if it's not left too long." There was determination in her voice. Then she sighed. "Though I'll have to put up with a second set of six weeks of flat on my back, four walls closing in on me." Her grip on his hand tightened. "I hope you'll be willing to keep me company some of that time as well. Sometimes… Ah well. Wishful thinking isn't as useful as purposeful action and it's difficult for me at this time to be in action." She sighed in frustration.

"Relax and consider it a vacation. Maybe even the only vacation you'll get in your life." He smiled. He knew how hard it was for Master to get a break. It wasn't too far from the truth.

"Ah, it's certainly a nice vacation when you're here, Obi. And Mistress Shirayuki, too. ...And Ryuu is very kind. ...This is a place that makes one want to relax." She was getting tired.

He thought about her position, about the fact that Zen would likely not want to give her up. There was one more question to ask tonight. "Miss Ilena, what do you think of Master and Mistress?"

"Mmm?" Ilena asked sleepily. She thought for a moment. Then she softly said, "I love them. And, I'm glad they love Obi. ...I have always loved and supported Zen. As he has grown, my surety of that has grown with him as well. To stand at his back, and at the side of Obi - these have always and only ever been my goals. As for Mistress Shirayuki, it has been like watching a brilliant red sun rise over the horizon, ever so slowly approaching the sun that has stood in my blue sky for the longest time, and finding great joy in the approaching and in their dance in the sky. What will it continue to look like? ... It's like I'm a pool upon the darkened land. When I look into the sky I see the moon I love to gaze upon that is Wellesley brightly reflecting the light of the two suns, and I'm glad I'm able to see that light. I also wish I could rise up from the earth and be a moon, too. ...To dance with the moon I love within the light of the suns. ...That is my dream." Ilena's voice had been growing quieter, her words coming slower, and now her breathing turned into the soft steady breathing of the sleeping.

Obi held her hand for a long time. Then he picked it up and kissed the back of it gently. Putting it back down, he released it and moved the chair and himself to their proper places. She had supported Zen as Second Prince since he was born because she was the First Princess, and because she loved him as she loved all who she chose - including himself, who had been chosen so many years ago. She had begun to watch over Shirayuki when Zen chose her, the same as she had watched over both Zen and Obi, and she had come to love her as well. _How is it in your dream you are the least of the lights? Do you not know you are a sun as well? ...And if I am a moon, how can a sun dance with a moon?_

-o-o-o-

In the morning, when Shirayuki arrived and woke Obi up, he sleepily stumbled to his room and dropped on his bed, falling back to sleep for a few more hours. In the midst of getting himself ready to go to the Rose Office, he stopped and looked at the books he had dropped on his nightstand. He touched the one with the history of Clarines. He wanted to show that passage to Master. The one that made him think Earl College knew Ilena was the princess. Before he walked out the door, he slipped it into his jacket, leaving the other one in his room.

Everyone was very busy as usual, so he got to work, but he was waiting for a break time. He set the book down on his desk so he could talk to Zen about it. He completed a stack of work on his desk and stood to move it to the table of things to be filed. As he did, he brushed against the book and it fell to the ground. Mitsuhide stood up and picked it up for him, since his arms were full. All of a sudden Zen was standing next to Mitsuhide, snatching the book out of his hand. Both other men were surprised by his sudden move.

Zen looked at Obi. "Why do you have this book?" he asked accusingly.

"I have a question for Master about something in it." Obi answered innocently.

Zen's face closed down hard. "I won't answer it. Don't touch this book again." He took it to the bookshelf and put it on the very top shelf in the corner, where he could keep an eye on it. Then he sat back down and went back to work. Obi blinked. Mitsuhide and he looked at each other, stunned. Mitsuhide shrugged. Obi shook his head, feeling very sad, and finished setting his work pile down, then returned to work. He wouldn't be able to obey Master in this thing.

Later that afternoon, Zen had an informal tea to attend. Mitsuhide and Kiki found a way to make sure Obi was there with them to watch over Zen. The three of them stood together along one edge of the small formal garden, Obi in the middle feeling a bit like he was a prisoner being guarded again, just like when they had made him return to Osterly garrison.

"So, what was that about, Obi?" Mitsuhide asked him. They were all facing into the garden, but they used this way to converse on a regular basis when they didn't want Zen to overhear.

"Ah, well, if Master doesn't want it talked about...," he tried to not get into more trouble.

"Obi," Kiki's voice was dangerous, and she fingered her knife.

He stood up straighter and gulped. Of course he must cave in the end, but what part should he tell them about? "It's a history of Clarines detailing the rule of Master's father up until his death."

"Well, that would contain sad memories…," Mitsuhide allowed.

Obi shook his head. "It's not that. Well, it might be partly that, but that's not what I was going to ask him about. ...Do you remember my report from when I talked to Miss Ilena about how she had come to the Earldom?" The both indicated they did. "That book includes that history. It seems that the Queen Mother's sister was the one who married into the royal family of Selicia. The third prince. The book says that they had a daughter, born about 5 years before Zen. It also says that a few years after Zen was born...did you know he was born in May? Are we going to get him a present?"

"Obi," hissed Kiki.

"Ah, right. ...they were all killed in a revolutionary uprising in Selicia. Miss Ilena said her family had supported the outgoing rulers, and they were all being killed. She said she had seen her parents flee the city and had to leave separately, but couldn't find them." His heart hurt thinking about it again. "Last night, as I was thinking on it, it suddenly seemed to me that the times and ages of Miss Ilena's story matched the story of the little princess."

Both Mitsuhide and Kiki were quiet. They weren't going to protest? "Well, anyway, I was going to ask Master if it was possible, but he wouldn't let me."

"She doesn't look anything like Zen or his mother," Mitsuhide tested Obi's theory.

"Well, no, but she does look like a certain high lord of Selicia that was pictured in the one book of Selicia history we have in the library."

"Obi! Just how much research did you do on your own?" they were shocked he had gone to the library and picked up books on his own initiative.

"I can do it occasionally, you know. It just has to be interesting enough. Also," he scowled in mock frustration, "she certainly has the Clarines family royal temperament, and drive. I'd even told Master himself they were very similar."

Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at each other. "Obi, we have a thing to tell you," Kiki said.

Obi listened closely to her story of what had happened the morning before as they followed Zen to his mother's office, then to Ilena's room, and what had happened after he had come out, up until the time he sent his letter to King Izana via message bird. It did seem like odd behavior. Then Mitsuhide told Obi what Shirayuki had told him about what happened in the room after she was called in. Obi felt like he couldn't breathe, almost. He definitely wasn't seeing well.

It wasn't that he was surprised that Zen had confirmed it for himself, that Ilena was the princess. He had already surmised that. It was that Mitsuhide had said that Shirayuki said, 'because she is marked she is no longer free.' And she also said, 'what we have done to help her remain in that place will decide whether she may stay or if King Izana will take her for himself.'

Obi had given Master his reigns freely. Ilena had been taken forcefully, thrust into a life of imprisonment, of likely being placed into a space not of her own choosing, because Earl College had decided to make it so. Obi ached for her, and he was furious. To Obi it felt like his brother was telling him, 'If you will not come to her so I can control you both, I will destroy her dreams and make it impossible for the two of you to ever be together'. Maybe Ilena was right and the Earl really had finally slipped back into the madness he had been in after the death of their father. He couldn't know, but if Earl College had done it to make Obi finally stop running and turn to face him ...it had worked. He was done running. It was his turn to protect Ilena. He would start with removing the influence of the Earl altogether. Then he, too, would do his part to help her to stand in the place of her choosing, so that the Earl could not have the reward of having taken that from her.

Mitsuhide and Kiki looked with concern at Obi. His face was as dark as they had ever seen it. "Obi?" Kiki asked softly, her worry coloring her voice.

"I need to speak to Master. Will you help me?"

His friends looked at each other. _He has something more he knows. Something important to all this_. They faced forward again, standing tall, and nodded.

Obi was grateful for their support and their strength they lent to him.

-o-o-o-

That evening, Mitsuhide and Kiki finished up their work a little early and excused themselves, leaving Zen and Obi alone in the office.

Zen wrapped up what he was working on, then looked up at Obi. "You wanted to speak to me?" His face was as closed as Obi's was hard. He didn't want to talk about Ilena, and Obi was determined to.

Well, Obi really wanted to talk about Earl College. If he went with that route, they might not clash too badly. Obi walked up to Zen's desk and stood at relaxed attention, his hands behind his back. "Master, there's a thing Miss Ilena doesn't know. It's about Earl College."

That got Zen's attention and he visibly switched mental tracks. "The Earl?"

Obi nodded, then went and took down the book he'd brought in earlier. He flipped to the page that discussed the visit of the Selicia royals to his family home. He found the passage, marked it with his finger, and put it in front of Zen. "Read this."

Zen did so quickly - it was a brief passage. Then he looked back up at Obi, waiting for an explanation.

"I was young enough at the time of this visit to not understand what was going on, or who came, but my eldest brother was old enough to not only understand, but to remember." He waited. The light of understanding came into Zen's eyes and he sat straight up. "I know you can't speak of it, Master. You don't have to. Mister, Miss Kiki, and I already know. We'll support you."

"Wha..?" Zen was surprised, then rueful. He should know by now that he couldn't keep things from those closest to him. They definitely knew him too well. He closed his eyes briefly. "Thank you." He was very grateful. He didn't have to carry the burden of the knowledge alone, but he also didn't have to do a thing he shouldn't do. This was why he loved them.

"Master, I spoke with Miss Ilena last night about how she knows I'm Wellesley. What it took to convince her was more than what it took to convince my brother. For him, it was enough that she rescued me from death." He put his hand on his chest over his scar.

Zen had seen it before and understood. "She healed you?"

Obi nodded. "She said she followed after me and bandaged it as best she could, then left me to draw away my brother from my hiding place. But he wouldn't believe her, when she said she hadn't found me. ...I believe he allowed her to be the steward of the house to teach her how to lead in the way she would need to be able to lead, and I believe he desired to have me, alive, so that through her claim on me, he could have power. If not here, then in Selicia." Zen's eyes glittered dangerously. He was as angry as Obi at the Earl with that thought.

"I've been trying to understand why he has chosen to let her go at this time. It seems contrary to his being able to have that power. I believe that four months ago when he sent Miss Ilena to Osterly, he already had a plan, but I can't determine that plan. I can only see that he knew Mistress and I would also be going to Osterly. That he knew I followed after Mistress and she would want to help the injured. He ordered his assassin to allow us to pass unharmed, then to make sure Miss Ilena was the only one to survive, but to survive injured so that she and I would meet again, and she would be brought here. But I don't understand why he should want that, why he should seem to give up his access to power, even his very life, knowing that she hates him and would use this as an opportunity to destroy him. She said last night that he's descending into madness again. That he's a 'pawn to be cast away'. I don't think she knows he knows what she is, so I can't be sure he's not just being very cunning. It does explain to me why he should want Miss Ilena to be discovered by Master." Zen raised an eyebrow. "He's stolen her freedom from her in front of my face. He knows I won't forgive him for this. He has forced me to turn and face him."

"Why would he give up the ability to control you and a nation merely for a confrontation?"

"I don't know. The only explanation I have to understand it is as she said. He's mad with the same madness that killed my second brother. He now only cares to see my face again so that he might rid himself of it."

Zen thought for a moment. "There's some reason he believes that he can no longer control you and her through you. If his opportunity is gone, then he would at least have his revenge upon you." Zen tapped the desktop and thought aloud for a moment. "Is it because you've given yourself to me?"

Obi considered then shook his head. "They've both known for many years that thing."

"So it's something more recent that's happened. ...Is it because I was transferred here by my brother?" For some reason he couldn't name, it felt right. A strategic piece on the board had been moved. This had allowed the Earl to move in response. The board being played was his brother's board. The Earl wanted Ilena to be found by Zen to force Izana's hand. Why? It was going to take careful thought to figure out. It had always frustrated Zen that he could never quite see Izana's board and what was happening on it.

Ilena had said Izana knew about her and her whereabouts; had watched over her, but made no move to remove her from her place. That meant he knew what she was learning, probably even what place she was setting herself up to be in. She had certainly not kept that a secret. Would he have redirected her if he wanted something else for her? Izana was very good at letting people do their best to be in the place they wanted to be, then using them precisely and to excellent effect in that place...if they passed his tests. He would aid them to get where they wanted to be if they needed teaching, but he would also ruthlessly remove them if they couldn't pass his tests. Zen reached out and picked up the message that had come to him that day. He read it again. _I will come to see for myself_.

The surface message was, _I want to see if it really is her. I want to see the proof myself._ But like his own message to Izana, there were always layers to Izana's brief words. The next layer down was what bound Zen from telling anyone who and what she was. Izana wanted to prove her to see if she was worthy of being claimed by the house Wisteria and publicly recognized as the missing princess. The third layer was political. Whether or not she was publicly recognized, they couldn't let her go because she was the third most valuable political piece on the board, after Izana and Zen themselves. Where she ended up, what she was told to do by Izana, was as important to Clarines as what Izana did with Zen.

"Obi...tell me...how did she know you were going to be in that fight? How did they know you followed Shirayuki? ...What are the details of that story?"

Obi answered him completely. While he was typically terse and cryptic in his speech, when he gave reports they were detailed, as if he had memorized them and was repeating them back. He knew that any detail could be important. When he was done, he waited patiently again.

Ilena had told him. In this story, she had finally told Zen what he had suspected already, already seen the cusp of. The research surgeon, the old man Obi said is called 'Grandfather', the fact that Ilena was both 'the Missus' and 'Mother', were all examples. She was the spider at the center of an information web. She separated it between the underworld, the 'dark network', and those who were good people, the 'light network'. She understood how to deal with both sides. But it wasn't just information, it was also skills and people with those skills who were the lines of the light network. She could call in witnesses for him because she had, years before, known there would come a time she would need them. He would need them.

For years now she had been preparing for this very time, for his sake. He'd understood this, but now he understood what the space was that she'd been making for herself. Ilena had told him herself, 'I held you close to me and promised that I would always be your support and shield, to protect you in your position.' She had followed through. She had seen a need, both for herself to find Obi, and then also for him, because he'd neglected to see it for himself. Or rather, he hadn't been encouraged to see it. He knew his brother had a similar network from experience, but Izana hadn't trained him to put one into place for himself. Zen hadn't thought much of it because he'd thought Izana's would be sufficient for the protection of Clarines and Izana would let him know what he needed to know.

But it clouded Zen's board. It was what made it difficult to see all of Izana's board. Just what would happen if he didn't have Ilena's information today? How much information did she have yet that he didn't know? ...Was she doling it out slowly not just because she did a reciprocal trade with information, but also because she was testing him? ...She was a Wisteria. There was no way she was not testing him. He'd failed one test already. She wouldn't give him her network if he couldn't use it properly. ...No...she was training him. Step by careful step, protecting what she'd built at the same time. "Haaah…."

"Master?"

Zen waved his hand. "Sorry. Still thinking." Obi relaxed.

There was that one statement that stood out. Obi said that she'd found him again, after he'd recovered from his wound, after he'd appeared at Wistal Castle. That her network 'overlapped Prince Izana's network'. That one of her people had been allowed by Izana to watch over the three of them. Again, her comment that she knew she was being watched by Izana and who his agent was. Izana was aware of her network, knew she was at the center of it and was willing to work in concert with it, and had probably known for some time. He considered their ages. It was possible that she'd begun to put it together long before Izana even considered whether or not to teach Zen about it. If Izana had decided not to teach it to Zen at all...did that mean that he had already approved? What had Ilena said? 'I've spent every moment of my life since you were born proving to Izana that I will stand where I will stand and I will make my own space _.'_ What if his brother wanted to know not whether Ilena could stand in the place she'd made for herself, but if he, Zen, could learn to use her in that place? And that was why she was teaching him, little by little, being ever so careful.

She understood he, Zen, was testing her, himself. She was always very careful to speak only truth. To answer every question. But she was testing him. Only answering exactly what needed to be said. Waiting to see what the next question was to see if he was thinking correctly. And Izana was watching them, waiting to see if they could pass each other's tests, if they could learn to work together to accomplish the greater good for Clarines. That was his test. He would be watching to see what happened with Earl College. ...But that was the training problem. Was there another thing going on that would be the test? It was likely, but it was also unlikely Ilena would let him know what it was until the training period was over. Then they would both be tested in the accomplishment of it. ...And then King Izana would come and make his decisions.

If Zen wanted to keep Ilena, he would have to learn how to use her and her networks effectively. He would have to show he understood the value of what she offered. And he would have to refuse to let her go, and that would mean training her to come to his wrist, this wild falcon he'd captured. If he couldn't teach her how to work with him, Izana would surely take her away. Even if he understood the value of what she was. That was the most difficult part of it. She might be able to train him how to use her fairly easily. But taming her…

Zen looked up at Obi. "Obi, I believe Ilena knows much more than she's telling us. There's a piece missing from the picture still. She wants to know if I can figure out what it is. She tells me step by step a thing I'm ready to know because I've asked to know it. Whether it's you who asks the question, or me. I'll think about what you've said. Within it is the next question I need to ask. ...Please continue asking her questions as well. Your assistance in this matter is very valuable." Obi nodded. "Also, I understand what the test is, what her place is, and what my brother wants to see in order for me to keep her." Obi's eyes lit up. Knowing was the greater part of the battle. "She's a wild falcon, recently caught. She needs to be trained to come to my wrist. I will say it again, Obi. I need you to stand by her side."

Obi sighed. "I'm to be her handler, eh? ...Do you know what she said to me on the way to the castle, after she made Mistress ride with you?"

"No."

"She said she was going to be even more difficult than you are thinking. I will ask you again. Are you sure it's me you want to stand beside her?"

Zen thought on it only briefly. She was most certainly going to be difficult. She was of the finest breed there was. There was no question he wanted her; that the struggle would be well worth the result if he won out in the end. And there was equally no question but that the only handler she would obey would be Obi. "Yes."

Obi bowed. "Yes, Master." Then he stood up straight and grinned, "But this time, I'll call on all of you to help if I get into trouble, not just Master."

Zen answered him very seriously, "You do that."

"Hoooh? You believe me, then?"

Zen just looked at Obi. _I'd be crazy not to._

Obi went back to work at his desk, as it wasn't time yet to go to Ilena, and Zen wasn't ready to leave yet. Zen continued to think about what he'd been told. Even back in Osterly, Obi had expected the Earl to try both assassination and kidnapping to retrieve Ilena or to silence her so she couldn't tell Zen what she knew. The only thing in town that had been tried was that they wanted to confirm she was there and in Zen's hands. On the way to the castle, there had been the two failed ambushes, neither of which was effectively planned to begin with. They had been backed by incompetence, or they were for another purpose altogether. ...Such as information gathering, the same as in Osterly: to find out if she was really dead, or how important she was to Zen, or both.

He still wanted to know how they'd known which day to be there, or if they had been waiting for a long time, and only set up the attacks when they received word that she was on her way. The wagon he and his group had run into had been like that. Like they had caught sight of him and then barely had time to get set up so they could delay him. ...Had he been delayed so a message could be sent, either to the other ambush site, or to somewhere else? ...To somewhere else. That seemed like an important clue. Like someone wanted to know if and when he went to collect her, and if he'd gone himself. That seemed to indicate they wanted to know how important Ilena was to him. Since they'd arrived at the castle, there hadn't been any activity as far as he knew. Was it sufficient for now for that person to know she was in the castle with Zen?

He had to agree with Obi that it was confusing if one thought of the Earl. It should be the complete opposite, for him. The only thing he could think of was that the Earl wanted to draw out not just Obi, but Zen as well. Was he a better strategist than Ilena said? It wasn't likely. What else had Obi said she said that time? That Earl College is predictable. 'Any ambush his men may carry out will also follow, and expect, predictable patterns.' So the predictable was the ambush at the half-way point. But then she'd said that she would _plan_ for a second ambush, even though she wasn't sure if it would be thought of. It was something that the Earl wouldn't have necessarily thought of. It wasn't a predictable standard part of his plans. The Earl would plan the predictable ambush, but not the second. But she would still plan for it. Why?

Last night, she said the Earl didn't have a light-side network, he only uses the underworld network. Anyone in the underworld in Lyrias would have been able to tell Obi followed Shirayuki. Other than being a Court Pharmacist, would anyone have been able to tell that they had a connection to Zen and Wilant until they'd all met there in the fall? The Earl had left Obi alone for over two years, even though he had been in plain sight, even though he should recognize him, even though he'd even been at his house the day before the accident. He hadn't wanted Obi. He wanted Ilena to be with Zen. Why?

Neither Ilena nor Obi believed the Earl wanted Zen. Only them and what they could give him. Yet all the evidence pointed to someone wanting Ilena and Zen together. Someone. Someone else? Was there someone else making the decisions now? Obi said she'd called the Earl a 'pawn worth throwing away' and that he wasn't her pawn. Was the Earl following the orders of someone else?

Then Zen remembered the other thing Ilena had said in their first meeting. 'Earl College has at least one double, and perhaps two. If you kill an 'Earl College' you are not assured of having killed _the_ Earl College. If you don't find all of them, whomever is left will return and carry on his evil deeds. _Indeed, one of them is more terrible than Marcovik himself.'_

Zen lept up from his seat. For more than the last two years, the Earl had become the underling of someone else, someone who had perhaps started as an underling, or an ally, who could pass as his double. Zen picked up the book Obi had left on his desk. He quickly read all the passages pertaining to her and her story. The Earl was related to the Polov's. Any Polov that had escaped the massacre would want revenge, would want to get back in power. Then he flipped to the last page. There, staring at him, amongst all the pictures of white haired and blue-eyed people was a Selician - Ilena's father. He looked remarkably like Obi. The history he'd just read said that her father had been found in Clarines, dead, though beheaded. But what if someone else had survived? An uncle or ...an older cousin? Zen's heart raced and he breathed a deep breath.

What would someone like that want? He would want an army that could go into Selicia and retake the throne. The small army of men the Earl had wouldn't be enough. He would need the army of another nation. If he could approach Zen, or Izana, as a prospective ally, with a firm claim… He wanted Ilena next to Zen, or even better Izana, because he wanted the Clarines army. He was saying, _here is my gift to you, will you give me what I want?_ Zen sat back down with a thump.

But first this child of Polov would have to remove the Earl. He was in the way. Polov had also given Zen the gift of Ilena to make sure it happened. Obi said that Ilena said the Earl probably of himself intended to die, to end the house of College in a blaze of glory. He would leave only Obi, whom Ilena wanted. What would make that worth it? If Obi could sit with Ilena on a throne. The Polov who was controlling the Earl wanted the throne of Selicia. If Zen died in the coming battle, perhaps they were thinking that Izana would recognize Ilena and put her in his place. Then it could happen. Was the Earl thinking that both he and Zen would die? Was that his goal? That was the only thing Zen could think of that would have convinced the Earl to go along with Polov's plan. Even if Polov didn't intend for it to happen because it would weaken his ability to request the aid of the Clarines army, he would have said it. The Earl might be sufficiently weak in the mind now to not be able to comprehend that he was being manipulated.

Is that what Ilena wanted? Was she complicit? It was hard to believe. She'd said from the time she was five, or even younger, she hadn't wanted to rule in Clarines. Even now, everything she'd done was to protect and shield him so that she didn't have to take his place. Zen would continue to watch for traitorous signs, and Obi would as well, but everything now said it was highly unlikely she wasn't an ally of Clarines.

Was the training the removal of the Earl and the other corrupt lords, and the test preventing the Polov from bringing Clarines into a war with Selicia? It seemed likely...except that Ilena had said that the Polov should also be removed at the same time as the Earl, lest he bring such a terrible thing to both countries. If there was something else going on...it wasn't within what he knew yet. But what he'd figured out here, this was something he could act on.

There seemed to be one more clue, though. It hadn't fit with his other thoughts yet. Did that mean it was related to the test, rather than the training? Ilena had told Obi, 'currently I'm blocked from reaching my ultimate goal, not being able to walk or run again.' _She needs to be able to walk or run to reach her ultimate goal. For us to be able to pass the test? She needs to be able to move under her own power?_ Zen shook his head. There wasn't enough yet, but he was certainly willing to help her remove that block. Especially if it was required to pass Izana's test.

Zen looked up at Obi. He was leaning on his elbow, watching Zen instead of doing his work, infatuation on his face. "Really, Master. I do love to watch you work."

"Lazy bastard. Save that look for someone who wants to see it."

"Obi has been working hard! Didn't I deserve some kind of reward? ...Well I've taken it anyway. Is the smoke done coming out your ears now?"

"Just how much research did you do?" Zen touched the Clarines history book.

Obi raised an eyebrow. "There's another book just like it of Selicia history, but you can't have it."

Zen raised an eyebrow back at him for saying "can't" to his master, but otherwise let it pass. "Just tell me: Who else in the Selicia royal line was living at the time of the coup?"

Obi thought back to what he'd read. "The king, two brothers - Ilena's father was the youngest. Their wives. The King had two sons, one daughter in the middle. The second had one infant son. And Ilena."

"What were the ages of the King's children?"

"The crown prince was two years younger than my eldest brother. The daughter was two years older than me. The second son was a year older than Ilena...or was it a year younger?" his face creased into a frown.

"That's good enough," Zen said.

"But…," Obi continued, "There was one other."

"Oh?"

"He wasn't listed in the royal line, only in the history. The king had a fourth brother, the youngest. His father banished him and removed him from the succession."

"Oh? Why?"

"His second queen wife, who was younger, gave birth to the child after the time the king was capable of having children. He sent her away with the child, telling them to never return."

Zen stared at Obi. "Did the history say where they went?"

"No, but Ilena says to the north is desert lords and nomads and the soldiers protect that border. To the west is Tarc which Selicia ignored, and it was Tarc who made the house fall."

That was it. The test would come from Tarc. Ilena's youngest uncle was the source of the movement. "Is it time for you to see Ilena yet?"

"Are you ready to ask your question?"

"Yes, and I want to hear the answer myself."

"Yes, Master." Obi stood. "We may go now. She won't sleep until I'm with her. But once I _am_ with her there's only a brief window in which to receive answers before she does sleep."

"She doesn't sleep well?" Zen asked as they walked out the door.

"Those who grew up in the house of College don't sleep well in mansions with small rooms."

Zen looked knowingly at Obi, "Which is why you sleep in the trees or in my room, and wander the halls and roof at night." Obi nodded, once.


	14. The Man Behind the Earl

_I greatly appreciate all of you who are reading and following along with me. Please review. It helps me know if the story is interesting or not. Thank you to the ones who have reviewed it for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you._

 _More meat for Zen to chew on in this chapter as we learn just a little more about Ilena and the chaos she is bringing with her that he will have to deal with._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 14 The Man Behind the Earl**

When they neared Ilena's room, Obi said, "I usually don't light a light when I'm in the room. Even though I wish to hear answers to questions, I also wish for her to sleep."

Zen thought about it. "Let's do it as you usually do it. I'll follow you in and listen to the answer and leave when she's asleep." Obi wasn't sure that was going to work, but he nodded dutifully. "Ask her this question: Why did the Earl agree to make you his steward?"

"Why do you want that question?"

"I don't believe he would have chosen it on his own. I believe he was influenced by another. I wish to know who and how he convinced the Earl. The answer will confirm my understanding." Obi accepted that answer.

When they arrived, Ryuu was outside the door as usual, working on his research. "You're early," he noted and went to greet Zen. Zen raised his finger to his mouth. Ryuu obediently settled on just a simple bow.

"Yes, I was done enough for tonight. You may go if you like." Obi offered, as if Zen wasn't there with them.

Ryuu collected his things and, bowing once again, left. Obi led the way into Ilena's room. From the light of the door, he could see that her eyes were closed, as usual. He allowed Zen to find a place to stand before closing the door, then went to his usual spot and settled down.

"You're early, Obi," Ilena said. "You have a question that needs answering so quickly?"

Obi smiled. She did indeed know Master was here, but would Master understand that yet? He'd never been a part of the darkness, so he didn't quite understand what it meant to have to know every sound, every scent, every change in order to live, ...though he was very good. Even now, he was quieting his breath as much as possible and holding very still.

"I suppose," he answered easily and honestly. He waited a moment before asking. It always helped to get her to relax into the answer first. "Have you been resting appropriately today?"

She answered in a tone that was both amused and frustrated, "No, Obi, of course not. I am no longer capable of 'rest'. I'm afraid I've passed from cross to testy."

"Ah, that is good to know. I shall do my best to continue to come only at night then. But does that mean you're now testing Mistress' patience with you?"

"Not just yet. I've found an acceptable distraction she's willing to help me with. I'm afraid I snapped a little at Ryuu, since he gets me as I'm getting tired in the evening."

Obi frowned so that she could hear his displeasure with her, "Did you appropriately apologize?"

"Yes, I did," Ilena answered humbly, "and I also explained to him that I'm testy and why. He'll properly scold me next time it occurs, he promised me."

"That's good. You musn't frighten him."

"Yes, Obi." Again, her response was humble. Then she sighed. "...But that means you're still the one who has to bear it."

"You won't be properly kind to me also?" he knew he was teasing her.

"No, Obi. Isn't it our way to be unkind to each other from the beginning? Or are you done with that and I haven't noticed?"

Obi could feel Zen's disapproving look directed towards him, and he bowed his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Miss Ilena. I'm done with it."

"Just as of today?" she wanted to know if it was only because Zen was in the room.

"No. From before I left."

She was quiet for a while. "That's a long time ago, Obi." She sounded contrite but also something else...longing?

"So, will you be kind?"

She sighed. "I have no desire to be unkind to Obi. ...But then, to whom shall I scream my distress?"

Obi felt Zen react to that question, so he waited. Then he felt Zen's question, and asked it. "Who's capable of receiving it?" Ilena's surprise was palatable. "Do you have someone?" Obi pressed her.

Ilena's intake of breath was more of a sob. "Yes. There are two. My nurse, whom you may remember, and a maid who became a friend. They are capable of calmly passing through my storms, though it takes both of them on my fiercest days."

 _Ilena is still very lonely_. Obi looked over at Zen's faint shadow questioningly. Zen nodded. "I'll ask Master if I may speak with Grandfather on the matter."

The bed rustled as Ilena wiped the tears from her face. "Thank you."

Now he could ask her Master's question. He waited for her to recover, then asked, "Why did the Earl agree to make you his steward?"

She pondered the question, puzzling over the meaning of it. Then she sighed. "This is a question that Obi can't hear the answer to alone."

"You won't tell me?"

"I won't tell you if you're alone. Obi requires another to be with him to hear the answer to this question." This was the first time she'd completely refused to answer in such a way.

"Am I sufficient, Ilena?" Zen asked, revealing himself. Obi wondered if she'd done it on purpose, though it hadn't seemed that way necessarily.

Ilena was quiet. "Obi's master is sufficient to hear with him, but you've said that you don't want others to hear some of what I must say."

Zen considered it. She must mean that she would need to reveal in some way who and what she was. "He's understood it on his own. You may speak it, but only in his presence."

"I understand." She seemed relieved. She paused a moment to find her starting point. "Before I was made steward, there was a man under the Earl who rose to become his right hand over the fighting men. Because I'd been increasing in power and influence over the household, he became jealous. Then I introduced the Little Death, as I've explained before. When Earl College agreed to my plan to use it, the Earl was afraid. He wanted to know if I had any plans against him, but he also didn't want anyone else to know of his plans against them. Because I was always at his side, I knew everything, including those things he plotted against his own men. When I proposed the experiment, he said he would only agree if I would sleep in the nursery, the small room adjacent to, and only accessible from, the master bedroom. I asked him for how long. He said for as long as he kept me on the Little Death. I refused. There were many nights I needed to be doing other things...and I had no desire to be so close to the hand of death and a man I hated for as long as I anticipated having to take it."

"Rather, I suggested a four week trial period, saying that if I said nothing in that time to cause him concern, he would allow me to return to my own room. I also made it clear to him that if he were to take me to his room every night, his men and the household would assume he'd chosen to make me his wife, or at the very least his mistress. For a brief moment he entertained the idea of teasing me in such a way, but he had other plans, and other reasons for not wishing it either. I also said that because I was helping with the household, my usual rising time was at six after the midnight hour. I wasn't sure he would find being woken at that time every morning acceptable. He did many of his own activities in the night hours, and slept long each morning. He agreed, but required six weeks."

"That's a very long time in a small room. Recovering from this injury at this time is not the first time I've lived through it, but at least then I could escape it during the daylight hours. While it was frightening to be cornered by him each night, I knew he would do nothing but listen. And he did indeed do nothing but listen. However the man who stood at his right hand became all the more jealous, seeing that I was favored to be by the Earl's side now night and day. As the Earl became calm and the household as well, thus proving my use even more, he devised a stratagem to remove me, or at least put him above me within his own mind."

"At this time, the Earl had already found two doppelgangers. One was a weak man who knew nothing really of the Earl's plans but was good at playing the diplomat. The other was a strong and evil man who loved to stir up the Earl's men. They didn't know that each man was different, only thinking that the Earl had times when he was one way, and at other times he was another. This man had decided that if the Earl's bloodlust should rise, he would suggest a thing to punish me."

"I had hoped that within the timeframe the Earl had selected, he would be able to remain at the house. However it was not to be. A week before my time was due to be completed, the Earl was called away. I begged for the weaker substitute, but the Earl wouldn't trust him with what I might say. The evil substitute knew all of the Earl's plans and what he didn't know that I might say didn't concern the Earl, thus he came to the house. The Earl explained to him what the experiment was and told him his life would be in jeopardy if he should touch me while I was sleeping. Then he left."

"The double was already used to me following him around, but this was a new thing. The first morning after the first time he heard me sleep talk, he laughed and said to me that he had no idea I hated the Earl so much and asked, like you, why I wasn't dead. I said the same to him, that the Earl already knew I hated him and yet I was incapable of acting on it. It pleased him to hear of my frustration. The double laughed again, then said that he'd most enjoyed hearing my cries, that he was thinking to send me to my room for the time he was there until he had heard them. His reward for putting up with my little scheme was going to be getting to hear them every night. While I would have loved to have escaped him, it was no different really than with the Earl anyway."

"Then the right hand man, recognizing the change in the Earl to the one who delighted in bloodlust, suggested his plan. He said that all of the women in the household should learn what their rightful place was and should go through a teaching so that they would be obedient to the Earl and his men. He knew this kind of 'play' was the sort of thing this 'Earl' liked. The double didn't know that this was both unnecessary and redundant as he wasn't around to see the Earl deal out punishment. It was at this time I came to understand that this man had figured out that they were two different people. He'd kept it from me lest I tell the Earl and have him removed. He proposed that each woman be brought in and raped by as many of the men until she became unconscious. That in being made to submit until they succumbed, they would learn to succumb in all things immediately."

"It was bad enough to consider that if the double agreed, and stayed to watch, or even participated, that I would have to remain and watch as well, without complaint, the evil treatment of people I loved. I opened my mouth and said to the double, 'It isn't necessary. The people already fear you and are very obedient.' The right hand man had perhaps expected this for he had an answer. He said, 'They are very obedient to you, yet they won't obey us (meaning the Earl's men). They should also obey us. Are we not the arm of the Earl?' When he saw this pleased the Earl's double, he continued, 'But perhaps, since they will obey you, then it is only necessary to teach you to submit.' And I knew that it was my life he desired, for the Earl himself had never allowed the men to touch me in all my life, killing any who attempted it. I suppose this also drove his rage against me."

"The Earl's double looked at me, unsure. He knew the Earl kept me with him at all times, that he refused to allow even the double to touch me, and he didn't wish to jeopardize his own position. I asked for permission to be able to handle the matter, and he allowed it, his expression saying that he was prepared to be amused. I stepped into the middle of the room and confronted this man saying, 'You believe you're above all the other men here?' He answered, 'Am I not the Earl's right hand? Other than he, I'm above them.' I asked him, 'And do you and your men believe that I'm above all the household, other than the Earl?' He answered, 'Yes,' and many of the men who followed him agreed."

Ilena paused. When she continued, her voice was cold. "I said to him, 'If in your mind, there can only be one who stands above all but the Earl, then in behalf of the household, I challenge you to a Trial of Supremacy.' He looked to the Earl for permission, and the double granted it. He had the advantage of strength, and I had the advantage of speed. No man of his in that room had ever seen me take up a weapon, as the Earl wouldn't allow me to carry a weapon in his presence. He asked what weapons we would use and I selected knife. The Earl's double tossed me his knife. I snatched it out of the air and was at my opponent. He'd managed to draw his knife by the time I arrived at his side, and he brought it down upon my shoulder, but before it could do more than slightly penetrated, my knife was in his neck. His falling weight caused his knife to further pull down into my shoulder, but because of the Little Death I didn't feel it."

"The room was still. I looked around the room and warned, 'Any who think that the people of this household are theirs to use and abuse as they please will answer to me first.' As I stood there, the bloodied knife still in my hand, blood running down my arm, the double, with the power of the Earl, declared that from that time forth, by right of battle, I was the Earl's right hand, and they were all to be obedient to me. They and the household. Not a sound of protest was made that day. Never again did any of the men look at me with jealousy lest they should meet their death also."

"I sent the men away to bury the only man I have ever killed, and when the room was clear, the double said to me that I should go with him to see Doctor Elliot. I asked why and he laughed. 'If the Earl sees you in such a state, he'll kill me, no?' and he gestured to my shoulder. I was surprised to see the blood. He asked for his knife back, and I threw it at him to kill him. He managed to snatch it from the air. 'I see why he doesn't let you have weapons,' he said to me, then told me to walk before him. When we arrived at Doctor Elliot's office, it was necessary for me to remove my upper clothing so that he could repair the damage. I sat with my back to the double, who waited lounging in the doorway, refusing to let me be alone. The wound was on my left shoulder, and he saw the markings on my right side first. He asked if they were scars from a previous fight. I answered they weren't from a fight. Then Doctor Elliot moved exposing the left side of my back so that the double could see the markings on the left and he was very still. I looked over my shoulder at him and he was staring at them as if trying to decipher them. This concerned me, as I didn't know anyone who might be able to do so. When he noticed me looking at him he looked away until I turned back, but he said nothing. Then I felt cold steel against the back of my neck and he was telling the Doctor to back away."

"I didn't move, of course. He ran his hand through my hair, searching for the mark of Selicia. When he found it he separated the hairs and looked at it to confirm his suspicions. Then he backed away from me and allowed the Doctor to complete his work. When we were alone again later he said to me, 'I'm your uncle, your father's youngest brother. If I had known from the beginning I would have treasured you as much as the Earl does, and even more.' Never in my life would I have expected this vile man to have been my uncle. I had never been told of him, as his exile came before my birth. I wouldn't believe it and demanded proof that he was my uncle. He gave it to me, though I paid a price for being allowed to get so close to his person."

"...I perceive Zen is asking even the same question I was asking then. How did he know the marks told who I was, when they are so secret that only those who have them know? There is a similar mark for the royal family of Selicia. It's in how I hold people's heads when I comfort them. As a very young child I frequently comforted my cousins, the King's children. When I would hold them, to remind them that they were Princes and a Princess, I would hold the mark that they'd received. It's slightly different from the mark of a child of Clarines in that it's raised and can be felt. To this day, I hold all this way, seeking to find if any of my cousins also escaped death, but can't tell me with their mouths, the same as I cannot."

"This uncle was not marked by the King, but his mother was at their marriage. She found someone in their new homeland who would copy the mark from her onto him. She taught him as he grew about the practice of marking royalty in ways that couldn't be feigned and, after the coup, instructed him to also be looking for living family who'd escaped. I believe he wasn't able to decipher my mark of Clarines, though he thought it was one after he was able to discern my mark of Selicia."

"He said he would allow me to see and feel his mark. Before I could move, he 'd snatched me by the head, grabbing my arm, and he pulled me close so that I couldn't struggle sufficient to get away. As his hand felt for the true mark of Selicia on my head, and he placed my hand on his so that I might know the truth of his statement, he said to me, close in my ear, 'Though you be my niece, if you whisper of who I am to the Earl or betray me, I shall have my way with you, and shall kill you after.' He held me a moment longer so that I understood that he was restraining himself from taking me right then, then he released me. With eyes that still threatened death, he told me that he would soon begin the transition from being obedient to the Earl to teaching the Earl to be obedient to him, and that I would properly play my part, neither interfering nor betraying him. I would start by agreeing with whatever plan he came up with to explain why I was now the right hand of the Earl, and I would keep silent about what had just happened, lest his own life and plans be in danger."

"He was just as careful to listen to my words at night after that until he left. His story to the Earl isn't important. It's sufficient to say that the Earl accepted that I would now be in that position. It was easiest for them to say that I was the Steward, for that put me where I'd already been as far as the household went, and gave me the power over the men as well. In that position, I had the power I'd always desired so that my own plans could be more fully set in place, and they were able to have the greatest control over the words that came out of my mouth, though mine is greater."

"Your's is greater… You mean you can control what you say at night when you sleep talk." Zen said.

"Yes, but also I can control who will hear what. My uncle threatened me with certain death for speaking what I've told you tonight. My life is now forfeit in his eyes. I locked it away so that only the one person who would need to hear and understand it could access it. If you hadn't been here, Zen, to receive that memory, it would never have been heard.

"But you knew it when Obi asked you the question?"

"No. He shed light on the lock, letting me know there was an answer to be given, and that it was safe to do so if the key was also present. There are many things in my memory that must be touched by one of you to be brought out. There are a few, such as this one, that require both of you. This is so I might protect myself for the sake of Zen and Obi. And so that Zen and Obi may be protected by me…."

Zen pondered the questions that still remained. "Ilena, the second ambush, when we were bringing you here to the castle, was that set by your uncle?"

"I don't know."

"Did you believe the Earl would have ordered it?"

"No."

"Then why did you think there might be a second ambush?"

"There are several others who've also been watching me. I don't know who among them it might have been. I'm only grateful that there wasn't an ambush for every one of them. That would have been a frustrating journey."

"Do you have many enemies?" He couldn't think how she could have collected them.

"No. Like Izana, most of them are people who believe I might be the missing princess. ...Though I don't accuse Izana of having set an ambush, of course."

"Was it your uncle's plan to have the Earl's wife killed and you injured at just the right time for Obi and Shirayuki to find you?"

Ilena thought on that. "All of the plans from the last several years have come from my uncle's mouth to the Earl's ears, but have been carried out by the heart and will of the Earl."

Zen nodded. That sounded exactly like what he had thought - the Earl was being manipulated by Ilena's uncle. "How do we ensure that your uncle will be present for us to remove at this time?"

"If you can ask that question you likely can already have an answer, but I'll give you one to ponder. Ask him to hand over the Earl personally as a sign of good faith. If played right, one of them will kill the other as a traitor, and you may kill the one left standing. ...You may know how to confirm who is who." It was an invitation.

Zen walked up to the side of her bed and felt for her arm. She picked up his hand, turned her head to face him, and placed his hand at the back of her head, under the strands of hair. He felt a raised area with his third finger and shifted his hand until the tips of his fingers could trace it. It felt like it was likely the shape of the rose that was part of her father's crest.

As he slipped his hand out of her hair, she grabbed it, holding it firmly. "As much as I fear the Earl, I fear my uncle more. As much as I hate the Earl, I hate my uncle more. When you return from doing battle with them, bring me his head, that I may feel for the mark and confirm for myself that he is dead. And bring me his left hand, that it may reside with the living right hand, leaving his body with no more means to plan nor to act." Her hatred and anger could not be constrained.

"I'll do it," Zen promised and she released his hand.

"I'll kill the Earl," Obi said from behind them, "for being willing to throw you away and take from you your freedom."

"Obi?" Ilena asked surprised.

Obi walked up to stand beside Zen and touched her on her head. "Because I didn't face the Earl before now, he has allowed for the plan of your uncle to continue. I'll stand and face him beside Master. ...You will no longer need to fear either."

"Thank you," she whispered.

His hand lingered slightly, then he turned to Zen. "Master, I'll take you to your room now."

"Good night, Ilena. Thank you for telling me the answers to my question." Zen said.

"You're welcome." she said, and her weariness could be heard.

Obi walked Zen to his bedrooms, made sure he was secure, then returned to Ilena's room. She was resting, perhaps lightly sleeping, when he returned. He debated asking her any questions, though he had some on his lips. As he stood in the middle of the room, undecided, he heard her quietly say, "Obi?" and it sounded like a plea. He walked over to her and, finding her hand, placed the back of his hand against it and took her middle finger with his.

"What's made you sad, Obi?" she asked, coming more awake.

 _Sad? Did I do this because I was sad? Ahhh… because I am sad for her._ "I read the history, of both Selicia and Clarines. ...The Clarines history included a few sentences on your family's visit to my home, that first time. It was apparently supposed to be a memorial of the marriage from three generations before us, and a celebration to renew the ties between the nations since another marriage had occurred in our parent's generation."

"Oh. That's what it was." She hadn't known either.

"I think my brother remembered you, or at least your nurse. I think he knew who you were from the beginning."

She sighed. "It's possible. Perhaps that would explain why he came to find you in my bed the night you left."

"Perhaps. ...I believe it also explains why he protected you and kept you by his side."

She seemed to smile. "Yes, that would explain that properly, wouldn't it."

"Did...did he really want me back dead, and not alive so that he could use us both for his own gain?"

She lifted their interlocked hands and kissed the tips of his fingers. "Obi. I'm sure there are times he thought that, but there were also times where his rants against you were very fierce. Even though he was able to be calmer knowing what the members of the household thought and dreamed, he never recovered from the madness. It was...is...always with him. He could hold on to me, hoping for you, but without my uncle he could never have fully devised, or followed through on, a plan to encompass something so grand as what you're suggesting."

"...I haven't lied to you in saying that he is ready to die. He's lived with the madness so long that he no longer wishes to live. My uncle had no difficulty in persuading him to the parts of the plan I did hear that have led to this time. He has the dream that you and I will sit upon the throne here in Wilant, and that soothes him. But he also knows that he will die, and he is ...happy, as much as he is ever to be such a thing. He's determined to go fiercely and grandly. If you will fight him, please don't throw your life away for the sake of pride, nor even for revenge. ...Give him a grand exit, but come home," and she squeezed his finger with her own and kissed his palm.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I won't leave you alone," he promised.

"I'll hold you to it," she told him in a voice that told him she was already drifting into sleep.

-o-o-o-

The next morning when Obi arrived at the Rose Office, Zen and the others were very busy at work as usual. However, Mitsuhide and Kiki cornered him quickly. They knew he'd stayed to talk to Zen, but they'd also noticed the book was on Zen's desk now, not on the shelf. And, Zen had sent a request for a badge of identification down to the castle staff office. They thought Obi had taken a very long time to get in that morning, even though it was actually earlier than he'd been arriving lately. He'd managed to sleep well, finally.

"Ah, good morning...," he said to them as they cornered him before he'd even managed to get to his desk. He glanced at Zen. Zen was choosing to ignore them. _Well, then, I guess it's okay to let them know..._

"Hi. Talk," Kiki was as short and to the point as usual. Obi was a little surprised she'd even tried to be polite and greet him first.

"How'd it go last night?" Mitsuhide was, for him, just as to the point.

Obi grinned at them. "How much will you pay me...say two bottles each?"

"Obi...," said Mitsuhide reprovingly.

"Done, and Mitsuhide will cover mine," Kiki said promptly.

"Hey! Kiki!" Mitsuhide complained at her. She was always doing things like this to him.

"Okay," Obi said, accepting Kiki's agreement, his eyes lighting up. They always paid him with good wines - Mitsuhide couldn't bring himself to buy bad wines. "It went well."

"..."

"..."

"Obi...!" Even Mitsuhide wasn't taking the joke.

"Fine, fine," Obi said, leaning against the wall they'd pushed him to and crossed his arms. "I told Master that we already know. He's grateful, of course, that he doesn't have to make King Brother mad. That's why he's pretending to ignore us now." Zen's ears went a little red. "I made him read the passage in the book that talks about the visit of the Selician Prince and the Clarines Princess to the Earldom of Farmore on their way back from his birth celebration, and pointed out that the current Earl was old enough to remember that visit, and a certain young princess that was with them."

* _Hssss_!* They both got it just as quick.

Obi nodded in agreement. "Then I admitted I didn't understand why he would give her up to Master and King Brother when keeping her was more beneficial to him." They both agreed that was a good question. "Then Master sat and sat and had smoke pouring out his ears. He asked Obi a few questions, then said, 'Let's go ask Miss Ilena a question'."

"What was the question?"

"'Why did the Earl agree to make Miss Ilena the steward?'"

Mitsuhide looked puzzled. "Wasn't it because she came up with a way to calm him down with the Little Death?"

Obi shook his head. "That was the answer to 'why are you on the Little Death?', this is a different question." They waited to hear the answer. "He made her the steward because there are more than one 'Earl'. His double let her kill the Earl's right hand man in a duel the right hand man provoked. The Earl wouldn't have cared, but the opponent wounded her before dying, and the Earl cared about that. So the double made her the top dog of the whole pack and the house, then took her to the Doctor to get fixed up. While there, he saw the proof of who she was...and recognized it."

He waited, and was rewarded when their eyes went wide when they understood that the Earl's double had seen what Zen had seen. What Zen had had to ask his mother to know, this double recognized himself.

"Who is he?" Mitsuhide's voice was hard.

"Miss Ilena's uncle, her father's youngest bastard brother who was exiled with his mother before Miss Ilena was born. He forced her to secrecy after proving it to her. He is behind the accident at Osterly, and everything for the last number of years, though the Earl was happy to carry them out."

"This uncle wants Miss Ilena here at the castle, then." Kiki said.

"Why?" Mitsuhide asked.

"Because she's his gift in exchange for an army to retake Selicia," Zen answered from his desk. All three aides looked at him in surprise.

"See," Obi said with a grin, "I told you lots of smoke poured out of his ears last night. ...And that he was listening," he added as an afterthought. "Ah! That means Master owes me two bottles, too!"

"Nope, I already knew it," Zen had a quick comeback, and Obi's face fell. Zen looked at the three aides and friends before him. He rose from his chair and walked over to stand before them. "Mitsuhide, Kiki, Obi, I'm taking Ilena with me. ...I realize, Mitsuhide and Kiki, that you don't know her yet, but I won't cast her off, nor will I give her up to my brother. Shirayuki and Obi already have accepted. I'm sorry I'm not at liberty to wait for you."

Mitsuhide bowed. "We'll come to know for ourselves, but already the things we've read and seen have told us she supports Zen. It's sufficient for now." Kiki nodded her head once in agreement.

"Thank you." Again, Zen was glad for such supporting friends. "I've placed Obi by her side, but she'll take all of us to train her to my hand. Don't hesitate when you see the need. From what she's said, she's already passed my brother's test for the place she desires to stand in." This news surprised even Obi. "It's now the test to see if I can properly use her in that place. She's doing her part to teach me, but it will take all of us to teach her...she's had very little restraint until now. And...she didn't come to me of her own will, but at the will of another, though she has desired it herself. She is, therefore, not quite ready. She will likely need to fly on the end of the creance* for a while, but...she is both vulnerable and excitable, so she'll tire easily for some time while she is learning to fly for me." They understood him to mean that they should be firm in helping her to understand how to work with Zen and the castle, but also be patient with her. They nodded.

"As for the Earl, and her uncle…" Zen walked back to his desk and they followed him, "...we'll continue to work as we have already decided, as for now they're the same person. When we formalize our battle plan, we'll need to ensure that the uncle is at that place as well. If we can remove him early, we won't have to bring Clarines into war negotiations."

"Remove? Not negotiate?" Kiki asked.

Zen shook his head. "Ilena's already given me sufficient evidence to decide we aren't interested in negotiating with him. Selicia is content at the moment with their rulership, and he was disinherited and isn't blood relation. He doesn't have sufficient claim, particularly now that I have Ilena and he doesn't."

They looked a little confused. "If...he gave up his claim in giving up Miss Ilena...then why does he believe this plan can work?" asked Mitsuhide.

"Because he's also being manipulated by someone else."

*blink* *blink*

He'd lost them, but he'd expected that. "The Earl and the uncle are both part of Ilena's training. If the uncle were the test, she would have separated them and let it go to negotiations, rather than tell me now. There's another thing after that will be the test. The only reason I can see that the uncle has lost the same advantage that the Earl did when Ilena was sent here is that there is yet another force acting behind him, manipulating him to also believe it was in his best interest. I don't have enough information yet to know what it will be, but what I have so far says that it will be a dealing with Tarc, and perhaps some with Selicia since they're a puppet of Tarc - or so she says."

He got nods. They'd followed him, though they needed to process it. "I believe Ilena will withhold any further useful information about the test with Tarc until after we've defeated the Earl and her uncle successfully. This is fine with me. If it were something that couldn't wait, I believe she would tell me. Her heart is for Clarines." Obi nodded agreement and the other two accepted it for now.

He looked at them, debating, then decided they should know for them to be able to help her learn to be in the castle. "I'll make her my Director of Intelligence today. If she's able to learn to fly for me properly, and my brother will allow her to stay, she'll become the Minister."

* _Hsss_!* said Obi, shock on his face.

"When will you let her know?" asked Mitsuhide.

"This afternoon," answered Zen with firmness.

"Do you hate me, Master?" Obi cried. "She'll fly against the jesses** before she's ready! You heard last night how she is already straining against her restraints."

"Obi," Zen looked at him firmly, "I want her to while she's still hooded***. I want to see what she can do with less than her full strength. And, I want her to learn early the boundaries she needs to learn to fly in."

"Haaah...But still, Master," Obi put his hand to his eyes.

"Obi, she's already admitted she had her own restraints in her own place."

Obi frowned, trying to understand.

"Do you remember what she said about the two she would like to have by her side? That they can weather her storms?"

Obi thought about that. He nodded. They would be able to help control her somewhat. Then, "Ah! The nurse!" He nodded more enthusiastically. "She is definitely capable."

"That's good," Zen was pleased to get Obi's confirmation that they would be able to get help, especially since Obi would still be in and out collecting the rest of the witnesses.

Obi looked speculative. "Master, there's also the possibility that allowing her to see Grandfather will help."

"Do you know enough about him yet?" Mitsuhide asked.

Obi shook his head. "But the name is sufficiently significant."

"Grandfather?" Kiki asked not quite following.

Zen mused on it, then nodded. "Go see him today. Ask if he's managed to contact the surgeon. I still want to see him as soon as he arrives. Also, ask if Grandfather will come and speak to me."

"Yes, Master. Shall I go now?"

Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at him. "No!" they said in chorus.

Zen gave him a shrug that said that he couldn't help. "Get things done here first, then go, say early afternoon, or at lunch."

"A working lunch," Obi grumbled as he headed to his desk.

-o-o-o-

Obi stretched. He'd had a working lunch all right. They all had, because Zen had asked for a cart to be brought in. They'd gotten the packet of reports from Falcon Hollow, and Zen had made it a priority. It turned out the 'Family' members believed in expediency. They'd all stayed in the dining hall that first day after Obi had left and wrote the reports themselves. It had taken another day and a half for Captain Grey to read them all, ask questions, and annotate the reports. So, all three aides had split the ten reports between them and summarized them. They'd just dumped the summaries and reports on Zen's desk. It was his turn, now, but it shouldn't take any longer to read the summaries than they'd taken to read the detailed reports, just four hours or so...

Obi looked at the other packets that had come directly to him, the one with the stories of the Family members, and the daily reports. Apparently they'd told all their stories to each other the second day. Captain Grey had written in his report that he'd had his staff sergeant record them, though when they learned he was writing them down, they made sure he had them right when he was done, saying, 'There's more folks to come. If we just put together a book, they can read ours. This way we won't have to repeat ourselves.' Betty had a fine hand, it turned out, and she volunteered to make the copies. She'd also included a nice note to Father, thanking him for taking care of them all. Almost made him cry... He'd far rather be out collecting more of them than sitting at his desk.

He picked it up and tucked it under his arm. He'd read it outside. "I'll go talk to Grandfather, next." He got silent nods from heads still bowed in effort, though Zen reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper and held it up for him to come take, all while still reading the summaries. When Obi had taken it from him, he said, "Triangle. Don't leave until I say."

"Okay." Obi tucked the warm paper into his own jacket, thinking happily that it had just come from being so close to Master's heart, and now was so close to his own.

He arrived at the Pelican gate, and stepped through it, nodding at the guards, then leaned against the castle wall nearby. He pulled out the 'Family memory book' and started reading the first report. He'd have to wait a bit while the lad who'd seen him come out ran off to fetch Grandfather, and the stories would be a good distraction, though somehow he felt a little cheated - like he was working through what could have been a nice break from work. He must be becoming a proper aide, finally. Was that a good thing?

"Hello, Father," it was the quiet, polite voice of Grandfather. "You seem very absorbed in your work."

Obi looked up. Grandfather was standing in front of him, another man at his side. "Ah, sorry. It's quite fascinating, how Mother has collected her Children."

"Oh? Is that what that is?"

"Robert was unsure he would fit in with the rest, so I suggested they all tell each other their stories of how they met Mother so he could understand why he's also Family. They decided to put them together into a book so they can let the next set know, too. They were kind enough to send me a copy."

Grandfather gave him an interesting look, then turned to the man next to him. "Father, this is Doctor Elliot."

Obi's face lit up, "Wonderful! It's nice to meet you, Doctor. This is a good day all around then. Doctor Elliot, Master has asked to speak to you immediately. And Grandfather, he asked if you'll also come and speak with him."

They both went a little stiff. "Eh, ah...is that okay?"

Obi nodded. "No one gets in to speak to Mother without speaking to Master first. Come along." He turned and led the way back through the Pelican Gate, not really giving them any choice. He'd left them rather speechless, but they hurried to follow him. After they were away from the gate, Obi said as they walked, "Grandfather, Mother said that if I talked to you about the collections, you'd be able to help me?"

"Ah, yes. I can let them know you're coming and give you the details before you go," the older man offered.

"Wonderful. How much advanced notice do you need?"

"Mmmm... Two days?"

Obi handed him the list. "These are the next ones. Master hasn't said when I'm to go yet, but he's figured it out already so I suspect he's impatient. I'll contact you again when I know when I'm leaving."

Grandfather read the list over, then handed it back. "I'll contact them and have the information ready."

"Thank you. Master also says Mother may have the nurse and one other to come take care of her and keep her company... the one she says is her friend?"

Grandfather looked at him in amazement. "Father," he said respectfully, "may I ask, what happened?"

Obi looked at him. He didn't know how much this person knew, but it wasn't likely she'd told very many people, if any at all, that she was a princess. "Maybe he'll tell you," he finally said.

When they arrived at the Rose Office, Obi asked the guards to announce Grandfather and Doctor Elliot, then entered with them when they were let in. He led them up to stand before Zen, who had moved to a chair set in the room for the purpose of receiving guests. Mitsuhide was standing to the side of, and just in front of, Zen, his formal position for intimate meetings with strangers. Kiki stood in her spot behind Zen and on the other side from Mitsuhide. When Obi stood with them, he stood behind Mitsuhide, but today he was introducing the guests, so he stood behind them this time.

"Regent, this is the man known as Grandfather, and this is Doctor Elliot," he gestured to the men in order.

Zen looked at them, memorizing their faces. "Thank you for coming today." Mitsuhide said to them.

They both bowed. "Thank you for seeing us," they responded.

"Doctor Elliot, Miss Ilena says that you're capable of repairing a tendon that has been torn from the bone. Is this true?" Mitsuhide again was the one who spoke. He was the voice of the Prince, as was customary in such settings, though Zen broke the rule when it suited him.

Doctor Elliot bowed again, "I've been researching the matter since I received Dr. Bonner's report. I've nearly completed my research but need about a week to a week and a half more. It would also be helpful if I could examine Mistress Ilena myself before then."

Somehow no one was surprised that the Doctor had been in contact with the field surgeon, though Obi was itching to know why. "While we wish you to do everything in your power to restore Miss Ilena's ability to walk, you do understand that her continued safety is dependent on the strictest level of security?"

"Yes, Regent. I won't betray her existence nor her location."

Zen looked at him with a piercing look, then nodded. "If you are willing, we'll have you escorted immediately to consult with the court Doctor who's been attending her. He can take you to see her." Mitsuhide obediently said.

"Thank you," Doctor Elliot said, the relief evident in his face and voice.

"If you'll come with me, Doctor Elliot," Kiki said, and she led him out of the office.

When they were gone, Mitsuhide moved to stand at a little more relaxed position, facing both Zen and Grandfather. Obi moved up to stand next to Grandfather.

"Grandfather," Zen himself said, "I'm glad to be able to meet you. Will you please tell me a little about yourself and Miss Ilena?"

Grandfather took the relaxed atmosphere in stride. "Yes, Regent. I was Earl College's grandfather's steward, as well as his father's. For the first several years, I was also his. When Miss Ilena was made steward, I stepped down, but remained at her request in order to support her in that role. Several years prior to that, she'd already come to me and asked if I would train her for that role. I was happy to hand it over, and she has handled it very well."

"...So you have experience in handling Miss Ilena?"

The old man's eyebrows shot up briefly, then he looked a bit depressed. "Has she been unruly, Regent? I'm sorry. She behaves that way at infrequent times these days, but early on her nurse would have to scold her severely at times. She is very...headstrong."

 _I'll say_ , thought Obi.

"Mmmm," answered Zen, noncommittally. "Her enforced inactivity from her hip injury seems to be the problem. She said that her nurse and maid could help to temper it. Would you be in agreement?"

Grandfather laughed. It wasn't a reaction the others in the room expected. "Yes, they could, though really no one can actually deter her if she's determined." He looked speculatively at Obi, "Except maybe this one here."

Obi felt his face fall. Not again. Another person who was determined to lock them together. Even Zen grinned at that. "Well, I have figured that out. But you see, she has put so many requirements on his time already, and it isn't possible to send her with him to collect the Family members she is giving me temporarily."

"Ah, that's true," the old man nodded in agreement.

"I would rather be able to take Miss Ilena with me," Obi admitted. "At least then she would be happily occupied, such that she wouldn't find the time to be …"

"What was it she said she was at last night? Testy?" Zen asked him, teasing him for having had that conversation in his presence.

"Oh, my. Mistress is already to the level of testy?" Grandfather frowned in concern.

Obi nodded. "If I remember correctly she said tantrums are next. I'm hoping Master will send me away from the castle before she reaches that level." Mitsuhide was having troubles not laughing.

"Well, truth be told, she'll have them all the sooner if you're gone. Who's attending her now?" Grandfather was willing to be of assistance.

"Mistress Shirayuki during the day, Ryuu, the Head Court Pharmacist, in the evening, and Obi during the night, until morning." Zen gave him direct, and somewhat sensitive, information. He was telling Grandfather that he wanted to work closely with him.

"Mmm… So she's on her best behavior during the day, and trying to be nice in the evening, but not always succeeding, and she snips at poor Father at night." He turned a sympathetic look on Obi.

"Well, she does sleep for most of the time I'm there," Obi admitted, for her sake, "but in the main you have the sum of it."

Grandfather frowned a little disapprovingly at Zen. "You also have some important people using valuable time watching over her."

It wasn't the man's to question, but Zen accepted the reproof without reprisal. "Miss Ilena is that important to me, Grandfather," he said quietly.

Grandfather looked at Zen in surprised approval, grateful that it was so. "I can have the ladies here to attend her by tomorrow morning, if you wish, or even this evening, if it would be helpful."

"Whatever won't inconvenience them too strenuously," Zen answered. "If you'll tell us their names, we'll prepare castle identification for them."

"I will, but I'm sure she intends to keep them as her personal maids, rather than have them be castle staff. Will that be okay?" Zen nodded. "They are Leah and Rio." Mitsuhide pulled out his notepad and took down the names.

"Obi will let the guards at the Pelican Gate know they have permission to enter until their identification badges are made. I would also like to make one for you." The old man raised an eyebrow in question. "I believe that if she may communicate with you daily, she'll also be able to be more calm. ...And, I want to see what she'll do." Zen had his castle game face pasted on, telling nothing about what he was thinking, even though he had just said something perhaps outrageous.

Grandfather's eyes wrinkled in a rueful smile. "I shall do my best to restrain her where I can." He understood. He was also being brought in to keep her tethered to her perch so she didn't cause herself harm. But at the same time, Zen was testing her and the Family as a whole. He gave them his true name and Mitsuhide added it to his notes.

"Thank you, Grandfather," said Zen, rising from his chair. "When the badges have been completed, 'Father' shall see that you get them."

 _Was that teasing me?_ wondered Obi, but he couldn't tell.

"Will you please join me?" Zen asked Grandfather. "I'm going down to visit Miss Ilena now. You may visit with her after I'm done."

* * *

* _creance - a long cord attached to a bird of prey to prevent escape during training_

** _jesses - short leather straps attached to the legs of a captive bird of prey, having a ring or swivel to attach a leash or creance to. Handlers hold them to help steady the bird on the wrist when they are waiting to fly them for the hunt, or to attach a bird that shouldn't fly to a perch in the mews. To "fly against the jesses" is when the bird attempts to fly while still be restrained, not having been let loose yet. This can result in injury of the bird, and the handler as well. Typically it happens when the bird is suddenly frightened and it tries to take flight to protect itself. Obi is afraid that Ilena will act quickly and rashly with the power the appointment will bring._

*** _hooding - when hunters who use birds of prey want their birds to be calm, they put a small leather hood over their heads to cover the eyes, simulating darkness_. _Zen is saying he wants her to begin to be trained to proper castle behavior and to answer to him while she is still in confinement so she doesn't overstep her bounds unreasonably in the public arena of the castle._ ( _Reference Ch 5, when Shirayuki, Obi, and Ilena are talking about Ilena being under 'house arrest'.)_


	15. Director of Intelligence

**CHAPTER 15 Director of Intelligence**

They arrived just after the doctors did, the guards informed them. Zen was pleased. "Will you wait out here for now?" he asked Grandfather. "Obi will stay with you." He had the guards announce him, and he and Mitsuhide entered the room.

The surgeon was in the process of inspecting the wound site. Zen and Mitsuhide stayed out of the way, Mitsuhide joining Kiki against the wall. He raised an eyebrow at her. She nodded back. She raised an eyebrow. He nodded towards the door and hallway. _'Everything going okay?' 'Yes. Where's Obi?' 'Waiting out in the hall with Grandfather_ '.

Doctor Elliot turned to Zen. "It's as I expected. The time estimate of one to one and a half weeks to be prepared doesn't change. She'll be my first experimental living patient, however. Multiple surgeries may be required in order to get the results desired." Zen was little worried. He didn't want her to have to go through too much, especially if the outcome in the end wasn't worth it.

"Doctor Elliot," Ilena said, "you get two tries." He looked frightened, as if he was sure it would take more. "Three at the most. Though I want to be able to walk again, I won't be able to deal with my restlessness, nor the pain, any more than that." Doctor Elliot paused, then nodded. He would just have to do his best.

"Doctor, if you would please see Doctor Elliot out of the castle?" Zen requested of Ilena's court doctor. He nodded and they excused themselves.

Zen walked closer to Ilena so they could talk. "Under normal circumstances, I would take a proper amount of time to confirm you. However, after taking into consideration the time and effort you've already invested in striving to reach your goal, and what you've already built, I've decided that already I may trust you in a lesser position, expecting you to quickly prove to me that you're capable of the greater role." He pulled her castle identification from the inside pocket of his jacket. "I would have you be my Director of Intelligence. You'll report directly to me." Ilena looked at him, her face unreadable, her eyes bright. She didn't answer him. "I think you understand that this is a provisional role, based upon your performance."

"Even so, it's too early," she finally answered him.

Zen shook his head. "I've already tested you sufficient for the position you're in. I wish to see what you'll do next."

Ilena's eyes narrowed. Any position for her in the castle shouldn't occur until after the Earl was captured, tried, and punished with the approval of the lords. Then her part could be acknowledged with an appointment. To be placed before then was foolhardy because none of the other cabinet members would acknowledge her power or responsibility. They still didn't even know of her existence. Just to make sure he understood how she felt about the appointment coming so early, she finally answered him, "I would have thought bribery was beneath you, Regent Zen."

"It isn't bribery, Ilena. It's a restraint. I'll have you stay by my side for now."

She paused a little longer, then said, "Very well, ...if Master Zen wishes for me to not be able to be taken from his side easily, I'll accept it, ...but you must place it over my head for me, as I can't correctly do it from a vertical position, I'm afraid."

Zen was angry, though he still had his public castle face on. He didn't like being in the position of a 'master', particularly when it came to people like Ilena. He also realized he had little choice - because of what she was. Even so, he felt it was petty for her to make him pay for giving her a position she knew she wasn't ready to receive in such a way. He took a steadying breath to calm down and stepped up to her, his face set. He placed the identification over her head and around her neck, settling it carefully upon her breast. Still touching it lightly and looking her in the eye, he said, "I look forward to the things you'll show me."

"Yes, Master Zen."

Zen looked at her a moment, then turned and left, Mitsuhide and Kiki following behind. Outside her room, Zen looked at Grandfather. Politely, he said, "Ilena will be ready to see you in a few minutes. Have the guards announce you when you think the time is appropriate."

Grandfather looked into his face, then bowed. "Thank you, Regent Zen." He, at least, could be properly grateful. As he watched Zen leave with his aides, Zen having called Obi to walk with him, he sighed. It didn't look like his Mistress was starting out well.

Obi looked at his Master's back. It was ramrod straight. He was angry - with Ilena, since it had been after he'd come out from talking to her. Obi looked at Mitsuhide questioningly. It was Kiki, on his other side, who answered quietly. "She made him force the appointment."

'Oh,' said Obi's mouth. Each as stubborn as the other, it seemed.

When they arrived at the Rose Office and Zen could be himself again, he let the anger go to his face, but didn't show it to his friends. Instead he walked out through the french doors onto his balcony and stood looking towards the city, his arms folded. The harder part was that he was actually conflicted. He was angry at her for making him force the appointment, as Kiki had summed up so well, but he was also saddened by the necessity that drove it.

Obi walked up next to him and leaned on the banister. "It's hard to tie down something that you love and wish to see free, no?"

Zen looked at him. It was just what he needed to hear, but, "Isn't it usually Mitsuhide who says things like that?"

Obi turned around to lean backwards against the banister, grinning at Mitsuhide who was behind Zen, and whom Obi had beaten to the punch. "Well, he was going to, but…"

Mitsuhide stood against the railing on the other side of Zen and Kiki stood near him, their presence strengthening and comforting Zen.

"...but?" Zen asked Obi.

Obi looked up into the sky, pondering the answer. "...She's _my_ partner, isn't she?" Mitsuhide immediately forgave Obi, and Kiki's face spoke approval. It was, indeed, Obi's responsibility to help his Master forgive his partner and also to comfort him.

Zen sighed and continued to look out over the city in the strengthening company of his friends. But...his back relaxed.

-o-o-o-

After Zen left, Ilena reached up and touched her new identification tag. It was bittersweet. She wanted what he'd given her this day, and the more he promised, but she hadn't wanted it this way. "Obi," she whispered, "Zen is very intelligent. He's stepped farther ahead of me than I thought. He knows how to use all of the people under him to great advantage. ...Will I be able to keep up, to do my part? Ah, I'm afraid I have much to learn."

Ilena closed her eyes, glad she was able to be alone for a time. She'd convinced Shirayuki and Ryuu to let her have some quiet time alone for the time period from an hour after lunch until a half hour before dinner was supposed to arrive. This had allowed them more time for their work, and had helped her mood because she finally had time to relax. Zen had allowed it during the time Obi was away. Shirayuki had been the one to propose it to him saying Ilena usually slept during that time, anyway, and it would allow her time to mentally rest. It wasn't like she was going to go anywhere, and if something urgent came up, Ilena could call to the guards. Grandfather had not been wrong in his assessment that Ilena was having troubles staying polite around the clock. Today had been a different kind of stressful already, what with the sudden and surprising visit by Doctor Elliot, and now the appointment by Zen. It would be good to rest for what time was left.

A knock at the door told her it was not to be. She didn't quite have to bite her tongue, but she hoped at least that it would be a short interruption. Her strength wouldn't last much longer. She kept her eyes closed to make just that point to whomever was entering this time. It's not like there were very many options of who would be visiting.

"Daughter," a dear voice beside her startled her eyes open.

"Grandfather?" she gaped at him. It was the most unexpected visitor of her day. She blinked a few time, then surprised herself with the realization that she was blinking tears out of her eyes. Her hand flew up to her face to wipe the tears. "Oh, my."

Grandfather smiled kindly at her. "It's been hard for you, hasn't it?" His kindness made the tears flow faster until she was bawling. He put his hand on her head, providing what comfort he could.

"I-I'm...*hic*...s-sorry," she sniffled.

"You should be," he said gently. "You weren't very nice to Master Zen, were you?"

She shook her head 'no'. "B-but...*sniff*...it...it hurts."

"Yes, it does hurt to have to live with the consequences of other's choices. Even still, this is a place you knew you would come to. It isn't necessary to make it more difficult."

Ilena sighed a deep sigh, finally recovering. "No. I suppose not, but it became very difficult for me much sooner than I expected." She looked up into his eyes and the tears, silent this time, slipped out again. "He already knows."

Grandfather was one of the few people in her Family that knew what she was. He sighed. "I wondered why the sudden changes. That would explain it."

Ilena nodded. "He's moved too quickly for me, really. I didn't expect to be at this point for another nearly two months. And that frustrates? worries? me because I'm still another two months from being on my feet."

Ilena looked away from him and her hand went to hold her identification. Softly, she said, "He's just made me his Director of Intelligence. It's odd, but apparently he uses appointments as restraints. And, he wants to see what I'll do with limited capacity. At the moment I feel like I have no capacity." She looked back at him. "But, then, I didn't expect to see you. Is that part of his plan, too?"

"I suspect so," Grandfather said. "They've asked me to bring Leah and Rio."

Ilena nodded. "He said last night, I could have them. ...So...he wants to see what I'll do, hm? Are you ready?"

Grandfather grinned at her. "Yes. Everyone is very anxious."

"Then, it may begin. Tell Marcus and Henry I want them by the time I'm set free of this room. I'll use Leah and Rio until then. That will help them learn the map. Also, extra important is someone, or two, in the dressing department. Mistress Shirayuki doesn't have even one personal maid. The castle maids do everything for her when it needs to be done, so we'll have to start there. Make sure we don't step on any Uncle's toes, please. I would like the detailed loyalty report as soon as possible, and if the section on the lords could be early, so I can give it to Master Zen before he goes to the Lord's Court, that would be best."

She paused to let him know he could interject if he wanted. "Father showed me the second list today," he told her, "saying Master Zen is impatient but hasn't told him to go yet. I'll be sending them notice when I return. Also, when I arrived...he was reading a document he said was a copy of the stories from each of the first set - of how they met Mother. That Robert had felt like an outsider, so Father suggested that they all tell each other their stories to help him understand."

" _Father_ suggested such a thing?" Ilena couldn't believe it.

Grandfather nodded. "I suspect he was asking them to tell their stories when he was picking them up, and decided it."

"Well, yes, I expected him to ask to learn who Mother was, but for him to care about the Children so…."

"Word on the street, and in my ears, is that he's very much like Mother," Grandfather said softly, looking with pride at her. "That was my first experience to see it personally."

" _He's_ seen it?" Ilena was even more surprised.

Grandfather nodded. "Father went to the Black Cat to pick up the four from town. First Son was told, so he went to confirm him for himself. He brought back an impressive report. Particularly since Father hadn't been told anything from the beginning, though Thayne was with him by then to translate. They seemed to be getting along well, by the way."

"Hmm…" Ilena mused. "That would be a good pairing until First Son is ready for him." Then she sighed. "Though with the way things are speeding along, it may not happen, really. He may just jump right to First Son, in the end."

Grandfather looked at her speculatively. "Are you going to let me retire early?"

Ilena laughed a short laugh. "If Master Zen can make me to go to work early, he can make you to retire early, no? ...Would that make you happy?"

Grandfather sighed. "I'm getting old, Mother." Then he looked at her fondly. "Would it make you sad?"

"Yes, Grandfather, it would. ...Would you be willing to come to my house and sit with me, even if I didn't put you to work?"

"If you gave me a comfortable chair and a warm fire, I'd sit with you anywhere. I think you know that, Mother."

"It gives me comfort to hear it, Grandfather."

"What news can I take back with me?"

"Did Doctor Elliot come with you?" He nodded. "Then you know all of my news. But please send my love. Is there any news I need to be aware of, particularly since I've been away so long?"

"We've moved a few around as necessary, but most of your Children are well and send their love. Ah, if Master Zen is moving faster than you expected, should I step up the other plans?"

Ilena considered. "Yes, you should. Confirm my horseman's rotation as well." She closed her eyes. "Mmm...he hasn't said anything yet, but based on last night's question and today's gift," she gestured to her tag, "he probably has a guess already as to what's next. He'll likely begin asking questions about it soon, and when he starts asking questions, it isn't long before he decides what to do, so we should be ready."

Grandfather could see she was thinking, trying to recalculate to be at the speed of Zen. "And the household?"

Ilena grinned at him. "I'm hoping he is putting them in the house he may give to me. Therefore they'll all be where they need to be, but get the horsemen prepared. We'll gather them at the same time as we send word up so they can help with the drive." Grandfather nodded, accepting the orders. Ilena held out her hand to him, and he gently took it. Her face was troubled and her eyes sad. "Grandfather, please tell everyone I'm sorry to have worried them. ...I asked on your behalf several times before it was proper to, because I didn't want to cloud anyone's eyes. Father said he was finally allowed to tell you, after Master Zen knew. That made my own heart lighter to hear."

Grandfather patted the hand he was holding. "I think everyone understood that your life was in danger, Mother. They were willing to wait until they could hear the news, though it was indeed a time to quietly celebrate when we heard it. ...Doctor Elliot stopped by and visited with Doctor Bonner in Osterly. He was willing to converse on your case professionally, though he wouldn't say it was you, of course. That was enough for us for the time."

"That's good," Ilena said tiredly. It had been an exciting afternoon, during a time she usually napped. She closed her eyes briefly, then looked at him again. "Please, tell First Son that Master Zen knows, and that I still miss him very much. I had hoped to be able to see him again by now." She frowned a pained frown, and Grandfather smoothed her hair.

"Shall I tell First Daughter, also?"

She closed her eyes. "Yes, please. It will help if she knows before she comes. Will you come again?"

"...Master Zen has asked that I come to visit Mother every day, if you approve," he said quietly.

"Mmmm….please."

He continued to hold her hand as she fell asleep, then left quietly, telling the guards she was sleeping. He was surprised when they told him how to get out of the castle from that location and left him to his own devices. Master Zen was certainly an interesting fellow...as was Father. It looked like they would be good for Mother.

-o-o-o-

"Master, where was Mistress?" Something had been missing from Obi's day, and he'd just figured out what it was. ...Come to think of it, Mistress had been missing from quite a lot of days for him, since before he'd gone to pick up the first round of witnesses. That wasn't a good thing.

"Ah, right. That happened while you were away." Obi looked at Zen darkly. It had been his fault for keeping him at his desk every day since he'd returned. Zen hurried to explain, "Ilena actually reached 'testy' the day after you left. Shirayuki and Ryuu decided that it would be helpful if she had some time to herself each day. Shirayuki is with her from before breakfast to just after lunch. Ryuu joins Ilena for dinner. So in the afternoons, she is usual sleeping, or so they tell me."

"He wasn't going to do it, even still," Kiki told on Zen dryly, "until they reminded him they are only three doors down and the guards could fetch them if she needed anything."

"Anyway," Zen continued on, "Shirayuki was probably at the pharmacy."

"I have a thing I need to do, Master," Obi turned to walk out the french doors.

"Ah! Before you go...," Obi stopped and waited, though it was obvious he was impatient. He'd been kept already many days from his main responsibility, thinking she was busy with Ilena - his partner who was supposed to be watching her. Master had been too distracted. "I think I said it before, but I want Doctor Elliot. Find out how to get him here in the castle where I can keep my eye on him. I want his research and I want him to help us figure out how to use the lower doses of the Little Death for interrogation purposes."

"Miss Ilena's Leah and Rio need a room, too," Mitsuhide added, pushing that duty onto Obi. He also needed to let the guards know to let them in.

"Anything else?" Obi said dangerously, looking over his shoulder at them.

"Ah, no!" "No." They waved him off.

Obi took off, headed to the roof from the banister. He stopped by the chatelain's office, the keeper of the keys and head of the castle staff, to order a room and pick up the key. They would be with the other castle staff for now. When Master decided to give Ilena a real room, they would probably be moved in with her into a suite, like the other lords who brought staff with them to the castle. Then he headed for the pharmacy.

He dropped down into the pharmacy wing and looked up to see a startled Grandfather.

"Oh! Grandfather, are you done with Miss Ilena?"

"Ah, Father! Yes. She's sleeping now. ...Ah...I've taken the liberty to scold her for her earlier behavior. I'm sorry. But she should be a little better, now, I should think."

Obi smiled at him, "Thank you. Master is also a little better, now. Ah, were you lost?"

"Well, the guards did give me directions, but it is my first time…," Grandfather probably wanted to scout the area, but Obi didn't want him getting into trouble on his first day.

"I'll walk you back, and show you the landmarks so you may come and go yourself next time."

"Ah, thank you," Grandfather said.

As they walked, Obi asked, "If I wanted to visit with Doctor Elliot, where should I find him?"

"Mmm...He takes dinners at The Scholars Tavern. Would that suffice?"

"Yes. I've seen it, but not yet been there. Is it a Family house?"

Grandfather smiled at the use of the term. "Yes, it is. The couple who run it are from Lyrias."

"So it is like the scholarly taverns there, then?" Grandfather nodded. "Well, I may try to get Mistress, or even young Ryuu, now that he is old enough to drink, to go with me. They might like the memories."

Obi saw him off at the gate, introducing him to the guards and telling them he would be bringing two personal maids to wait on his Missus in the near future and to let them pass, and that Grandfather himself would be coming each day, on the order of the Regent. Then Obi, glad he'd been able to get both of his other tasks done at the same time, was finally able to head to his Mistress' side.

When Obi arrived at the Pharmacy, he found Ryuu, but not Shirayuki. "Ryuu! I'm back. Why were you still working nights outside Miss Ilena's room when it wasn't necessary?"

"Eh? Ah…," Ryuu looked embarrassed. "It's quieter there," he turned away, looking down as he said it.

"Mmm…," Obi looked at him askance. "You like her that much, then?"

Ryuu traced a pattern on the table in front of him. "Eh, well… I've been meaning to talk to you, too, but I keep forgetting."

"Me?" Obi was surprised. But then, Ryuu wouldn't have been able to except when they were passing at Ilena's door, Obi had been so busy. "I'm sorry. Master has kept me busy. What was it?"

"Well, Miss Ilena told me about a place in town I'd like to go visit, but I was hoping you could take me." The shy Ryuu, who had been with him for more than two years, was doing much better at talking to him, but it was still difficult for him to look Obi in the eyes.

Obi smiled. He had a guess. "Where is it?"

"It's called the Scholars Tavern," he blushed a furious red.

 _Oohhh? An ulterior motive to going? Is Ryuu finally at that age? Perhaps it should be a visit without Mistress, then_. "Well, I was just looking for an excuse to go into town, and had thought I might go there as I haven't been yet. When is it would work best for you?"

"I have a break tomorrow evening, if Shirayuki will take dinner with Miss Ilena." Ryuu looked very hopeful.

"If you'll tell me where to find her, I'll ask for you," Obi said helpfully.

"Ah, she's in the third greenhouse. The plants have needed tending this week."

"Thank you, Ryuu. I'll come pick you up here tomorrow evening, then."

"Okay!" Ryuu was very happy.

Obi smiled to himself as he left. Ilena was still being Mother, even to Ryuu, setting him up like that. He hoped the teen would be able to find what he was looking for there, eventually. He really was a very likeable person, if you could get through the shyness that held him back. It would be good for him to get out and practice being more social.

"I'm back, Mistress!" Obi said, appearing at the door to the greenhouse she was in.

"Oh, Obi! Welcome back!" She stood up from her planting and brushed a lock of escaping red hair out of her face.

"Well...I've been back, but Master just told me now that you had the afternoons off. He's also had me chained to my desk, so I could only come just now."

"Zen only told you now?"

"Yes. I'm sorry." He didn't want another scolding for having been away from her when he shouldn't have been.

"Well, it has been busy, even here at the Pharmacy. It was helpful to have the afternoons back, now that we're in the planting time."

"What can I do?" Obi asked. He'd been helping her with such chores now since he'd first been assigned to follow her, back at Wistal Castle, when Zen had asked him to guard her from the spies who were following her around, wondering if she could be used to influence Zen, those five years ago.

"I'm moving these plants up to the upper level. We've decided they need more sun than they're getting here. Take them up to where you'll see a free prepared bed."

"Yes, Mistress," Obi reached down and gently picked up an arm load and headed up to the place she indicated. He went ahead and started planting them when he arrived. Shortly, Shirayuki arrived with another armload and began to plant them, starting from the other end of the bed. "Have you been well?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said. He could tell there was still something she'd been thinking about. He waited to see if she would say it on her own. "Obi. What is Zen's day like here in this place? What does he do?"

"Mmm…. He rises early, eats a breakfast in his room, and goes to the Rose office. Sometimes he needs to meet briefly with someone on the way." Obi put the next plant in. "Then for the morning it's mostly reading of reports...though we read the reports now and he reads the summary so that he can get through more of them. There are many more reports now as Regent, than there were as Prince at Wistal. If he's fortunate, he may complete his written orders back before lunch, but often he's still writing them through lunch. The early afternoon is open for visiting with lords and others who need to bring their concerns to him directly. Or, if there isn't anyone to come to him, he'll go to them, having accepted their invitations to informal or, less frequently, formal teas. That helps him to understand how the lords of the castle think. He's been spending most of his months since he came helping them understand who the Regent is."

He took some of Shirayuki's pile of plants and began planting them. "After the visiting time, he'll go to one or another department to visit with the department heads. Then he returns to his office to write his own reports of the day and to consider where he'll be needed next. Then it's signing of documents and reading and writing correspondence until past dinner time. Occasionally, he must attend a formal dinner, but those aren't common, particularly as most of them are invitations to meet some daughter or other that he isn't interested in meeting." Obi looked out of the corner of his eye at Shirayuki. Normally she wouldn't react to such a comment, but it would eat at her. He'd mentioned it on purpose to see how she was doing.

Shirayuki had paused briefly, in the middle of putting another plant in the bed, then firmly set it in it's hole and covered it's roots. Otherwise she had no reaction. _She's thinking about how she'll stand by Master. It's hard to see he's working on it also_. "Then he takes a small stack of work to finish up to his bedroom and works until he falls asleep, the same as Mistress."

Shirayuki looked up at him in surprise and blushed a little. "You know I take work to bed with me?"

"Of course, Mistress. You can't fall asleep without it, I've seen."

"Well...it's true. It's the same for Zen?" Obi nodded. "Well, he does certainly have very full days, it sounds like."

"Especially since coming here," Obi agreed. "Even Mister, Miss Kiki, and Obi have very full days helping him now. Ah, but he has opened the Rosebud Office and brought back experienced help, so it's not so overwhelming now. We can focus on what's important. That's been very good. He's learned some strength. He also finally found someone for Miss Kiki to train that will stand in her stead when she's at her home. She's extra busy with that, but says that he's very competent and soon she'll have her own load lessened somewhat." Obi looked sad. "Obi is the only one Master hasn't found an assistant for. The Rosebud Office is Mister's assistant. He has five! Surely one could help Obi?"

Shirayuki smiled at him, then patted his arm. "I'm sure when Obi needs one, Zen will find one." She stood up and brushed off her clothes. "Let's go get the next set."

Obi obediently followed her back down to the bed being moved. "Is it becoming hard to not be in Master's day?" He asked her, a little trepidatious. She would in the past become angry at the suggestion that she didn't want Zen to be what he needed to be, to be able to do the things he needed to do. But it had been a very long time, already.

Shirayuki's face set, and Obi thought she would indeed be angry with him. "When we were bringing Ilena here, he said that he was having troubles knowing what to do next. I said that if we couldn't think of it, I would speak with Ilena on the matter." She paused as she looked a little angrily at the plants in front of her. "...It was she who suggested I ask what his day's schedule was so that I might understand."

"Hmm..." _Haah. Mistress is angry enough to bring Mother into it. Should I warn Master? Or will he expect me to talk to Mother about it first?_ They finished collecting the remainder of the plants from the bed and took them up to their new bed. "Ah!" Obi remembered his conversation with Ryuu. "Mistress, Ryuu has asked if you would be willing to trade him tomorrow and have dinner with Miss Ilena. He said it when I came looking for you. If you're willing you should make sure he knows to have lunch with her."

Shirayuki nodded. "I'll speak to him."

"Also, today Master made Miss Ilena his Director of Intelligence."

"Director?! Of...Intelligence?"

"And he's allowed her two maids to come take care of her, so that Mistress and Ryuu can have their time back, though you should still make sure of her. They'll likely arrive tomorrow morning, with her servant known as Grandfather, who'll also come each day to visit with her. In this way Mistress and Ryuu won't have to have Miss Ilena's testy directed at them, nor deal with her tantrums, which she says are next."

"Tantrums? Really?"

Obi nodded. "Miss Leah and Miss Rio are used to them, it seems. But Mistress shouldn't have to bear with them."

"I would rather not…," Shirayuki said faintly. She quietly planted a few more plants. They were nearly done. "Is this because of the mark? Of what she is to Zen?"

Obi nodded. "He says even King Brother knows of the place she is aiming for, and approves. Master must work hard to show him that he can use her in that place, and we must work hard to ensure she can be tamed to Master's call."

Shirayuki looked a little puzzled. "Tamed?"

Obi looked at his rather innocent Mistress. "Unlike Mistress, Miss Ilena isn't used to being obedient, but does her own will. It would be good if she could listen to hear the words of Mistress and Master."

Shirayuki got it. Her lips pursed a little, and she nodded. Even if she asked for advice from Ilena she should consider her own ways first, and correct Ilena when necessary.

-o-o-o-

When Shirayuki was done with her chores in the greenhouse for the day, she led Obi back into the Pharmacy. There she looked for Ryuu, who was preparing to go to have dinner with Ilena.

"Ryuu, Obi says you wanted to trade me tomorrow for dinner with Ilena?"

"Yes," Ryuu nodded, "if that would be okay with you."

"It would...but it would also be good for me if it was tonight. Would that be possible?" Shirayuki was always respectful of Ryuu and his position, regardless of his age. At the same time she was also very good for him.

Ryuu looked over at Obi questioningly. "It should be okay…?" Obi thought about it, then nodded. Master had given him an order and this was following it. He owed Obi anyway. "Yes," Ryuu finished.

"I'll go clean up, then, Obi," Shirayuki said.

"I'll walk you there when you're ready, Mistress," Obi said to her. Then, after she was out of the room, he said to Ryuu, "I'll come back for you. After I take Mistress I should also leave a note for Master."

Ryuu nodded. "I'll wait for you."

Obi smiled a lopsided smile. "You could change into something more comfortable first."

"Ah…!" Ryuu looked down at his castle uniform, then nodded. "I'll do that." He wandered off. Obi thought it was funny that he'd just gone and done it, instead of finishing his work first. He had time, after all.

When they arrived at Ilena's room, Shirayuki knocked and announced herself, then let herself in. Obi followed.

"Ah!" Ilena said, surprised. "Mistress Shirayuki, Obi. Well, this is certainly a day of changes and surprises. To what do I owe the visit?"

Shirayuki answered first, "I'm trading with Ryuu tonight. He has a thing he needs to do. Ah...and I hear congratulations are in order?"

Ilena's smile was slightly sad. "Yes. Thank you very much." She looked at Obi, assuming he had been the one to tell.

Obi answered, "Good evening, Miss Ilena. I hope you're doing better."

"Yes, Obi. It was good to speak with Grandfather. Since I can't do it myself, will you please pass my gratitude, and my apology, on to Master Zen?"

 _Master_ _Zen? Is it the appointment?_ "...I will. But Miss Ilena, you must behave from now on, yes?" Obi looked significantly at Shirayuki. _Whatever you're going to tell Mistress, be good._

"Yes, Obi," Ilena said meekly.

"Then, I'll leave you two to your dinner." Obi bowed himself out.

He headed up to Zen's bedroom. He didn't want to get caught up in the desk work in the office again. He got a pen and paper from Zen's desk there and wrote a quick note, leaving it with the book the Family members had put together about Mother on Zen's pillow, then headed back down to get Ryuu.

When Zen arrived to his bed that night, he was nonplussed to find them there. _Master, Mistress has begun talking to Miss Ilena about how to stand by Master. I'm collecting Doctor Elliot for you. Here is better bedtime reading for you. Miss Ilena says she is sorry and thank you_. The first sentence made his hairs stand on end. The second was an acceptable excuse for why Obi'd been gone. The third made him curious. The fourth was sufficient for now, but sounded like Obi had added it as an afterthought. He set his other work down on the desk, settled in the middle of his bed, and opened the Family book. ...Obi was right. It definitely made for much better bedtime reading.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki had gotten Ilena ready for her dinner, and they were now enjoying the small meal together, Shirayuki taking turns to feed herself and Ilena.

"I'm sorry, Mistress Shirayuki, that I must make dinner so difficult for you," Ilena said.

"It's okay. Very soon you'll be able to sit up and feed yourself." Shirayuki didn't mind it really.

"Well...no, actually. Maybe only for a few days at the most."

"What?" Shirayuki was surprised.

"Master Zen finally found Doctor Elliot. He was here to see me this afternoon. He says he'll be ready to attempt his surgery in seven to ten days. After that, we'll start all over, I'm afraid."

Shirayuki sat still, blinking for a moment. "Well, that will be good if it works, so you'll be able to walk again. But...will you be okay?" She gave Ilena the bite that had paused on it's way.

"Well, no. Even though I told Master Zen I would do anything to walk again, including this, I will probably not be okay." Ilena looked as disappointed as Shirayuki was feeling. Then she brightened up, "But, you won't have to put up with me so much. Master Zen has allowed my nurse and maid to come and sit with me. They're used to it, so it shouldn't be too bad."

Shirayuki, having heard this news, nodded. "I would like to meet them. They must be very strong."

Ilena laughed. "Mistress Shirayuki already understands Ilena. I would like for you to meet them. I think they'll come when you're here tomorrow morning. Then you'll be free."

"Except the times I'll come to make sure you're still being properly cared for," Shirayuki said firmly. "You shall not be so free of me as that."

"Well, that's good, too," Ilena said happily. She hadn't really wanted Shirayuki to not come again. She had a lot to train her in, after all.

"...I spoke with Obi this afternoon and asked him about Zen's schedule, like you suggested," Shirayuki got to the point she wanted to talk about. "You were right. It's very full of paperwork and meetings. But Obi says that recently Zen has been strengthened enough to allow others to be doing more so that he can focus on what's important. He's done the same for Mitsuhide and Kiki as well."

Ilena nodded. "That's good. He'll be able to have time for you, soon, then. ...I'm sure he doesn't want to impose on your busy schedule either. Does he know it any better than you knew his?"

Shirayuki shook her head. "We've not discussed it before. Do you think he thinks that?"

Ilena nodded. "Master Zen respects you very much. I'm sure he wants to be as cautious about your time as you are about his. But if you wish to be by his side more, surely you must at least ask?"

"But," Shirayuki looked doubtful, "it doesn't sound like there's anywhere to fit me into his schedule."

"That's because you've been told his current schedule, which doesn't include you yet. There are two times that are possible, from what you've told me." Shirayuki raised her eyebrow, listening. "There is lunch, and there is dinner. Master Zen should really not be working through both. That isn't good. It helps to clear the mind and make it more rested and useful, to stop and eat well." Shirayuki nodded. She'd experienced both herself, and knew it was true, and how hard it was to make oneself stop and eat. "If you were to show up at lunch time, Master Zen would have to take the time to rest and eat. Then he could be more effective in the afternoon. And he would be strengthened because he would have seen the smile of Mistress Shirayuki as a reward for his hard work in the morning. Wouldn't this be the same for you?"

Shirayuki nodded, slowly. "But would it be okay?"

"Well, certainly you should speak with Master Zen to confirm it, but, you are the Court Pharmacist in charge of his health, are you not?" Ilena looked at her with lidded eyes. Would Shirayuki pick up on the challenge to find strength in her current position?

Shirayuki didn't disappoint her. After all, that was one of the reasons she'd worked hard to get where she was. "Yes, that's true. I wonder how to talk to Zen about it, though. As I said before, there really isn't opportunity to talk to him about things, unless he happens to come down here, or I run into him in the hallways. ...Or if I send Obi to get him. Though sometimes I can pass messages to him through Mitsuhide or Kiki if I see them when we're leaving in the morning or arriving at night. This is the very problem, you see."

"Hmm...yes. Well, Ilena is very willful, Mistress Shirayuki. I would take the lunch cart from the kitchen staff and walk into the office with it. And when Master Zen asked what I was doing there, I would say that I had been informed at the Pharmacy that he wasn't eating properly, and I was there to see that he did, and that I would be staying to see that he did eat. Wilant can't have it's Regent fainting, after all. Then during the meal, I would explain it to him, and see if he would agree to it." Ilena watched Shirayuki's face. She was finding it both a difficult thing to do, and yet at the same time, appealing. "But, then, as I say, I'm willful. I'm sure Mistress Shirayuki can find her own way." Was she going to have to push her further? Obi had said to be good, but this was important. If they didn't ever choose to find time to be together, they wouldn't ever be together. Even Shirayuki now acknowledged it was important for the same reason. And...Shirayuki was suffering because she didn't know anything.

"I'll consider it. There is a thing I can do, it's true." Ilena nodded. Shirayuki was thinking now about how to use her position to get what she needed. It was good.


	16. The Scholars Tavern

_So, I dreamed last night the someone was already stealing my story for their own profit. Didn't really want an author's nightmare, but it made me think I should at least put somewhere my copyright. I do not own the mangaka's characters, places, etc., but I do reserve any and all rights, foreign and domestic, to Ilena and all my own characters, places, ideas, story, plot, etc. Please contact me if you want to use them for any purpose. (I am purchaseable and, like all creators, want to be credited when it is shared.)_

 _To me, this chapter was a lot of fun. It is the scholarly types getting together over beer. It may be too much (intellectualism?) for many of you, though it has important plot items in it. It is my (brief) nod to her Olin Maris arc. Please bear with me. We get back to Shirayuki's strength in the next chapter._

 _Thank you for following along with me!_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 16 The Scholars Tavern**

The Scholars Tavern was far enough from the castle that Obi opted to take Ryuu in a carriage. It wasn't that Obi couldn't have walked it, it was that Ryuu still had a very weak body from sitting in the pharmacy all day everyday since he had been very young. He had learned some strength in Lyrias, where they'd had to walk quite a bit, but Obi was going to have to work him back up to it again already. And for a first night there, it seemed a bit much to make him walk right away. Obi, himself, hated being cooped up in the small moving rooms as much as he did the small rooms of the castle, but he could put up with it for one night's short trip.

"Obi," Ryuu said in his quiet voice, "What is it that Miss Ilena is here at the castle for? Is it just for the repair to her hip?"

Obi looked at him in great surprise. "No one's told you, Ryuu?"

Ryuu shook his head. Obi blinked. To have watched over her for this long… "I'm sorry, Ryuu. You've been very strong." Ryuu sat looking out the window of the carriage, one hand under his chin, not saying anything. He looked very lonely, to Obi. "Ah...what can I say...Miss Ilena was the household steward for Earl College of Farmor. Like you, she rose to her position young, at the age of seventeen." Ryuu looked at him sideways in surprise. "She is well respected by the people of Farmor, and the people of the household love her. But the Earl is a difficult man, so her ability is all the more impressive." Obi sat and thought bleakly about where Ilena had come from. He didn't notice that Ryuu turned to face him in surprise, that he had recognized in Obi an emotion that he didn't usually have.

"She was returning to the Earldom seat with her mistress, the lady wife of the Earl, when a landslide took the carriage and all with it, except Miss Ilena. Mistress and I had just earlier that day passed both the location of the landslide, and the carriage itself. Mistress requested to go with the rescue party to give aid. Because we were there, Master was able to learn about the ill works of the Earl. He's brought Miss Ilena here to protect her while she's recovering, so that she can testify before the Lord's Court against her former master." Obi looked up at Ryuu and saw he was being looked at with very round eyes. "Did you receive the report about the Little Death being used in tincture form?"

Ryuu nodded. "I found it fascinating. I've been able to experiment a little with it, but would like to know more."

Obi nodded. "I would think you might. That report came from Miss Ilena. She was the research assistant to a surgery researcher who discovered those properties, and the living experiment to see to it's working. Master has sent me to discover if he, Doctor Elliot, will come to the castle to continue his research there."

Ryuu sat up straighter, keenly interested. "She mentioned being a research assistant. I didn't know it was for the Little Death. If Doctor Elliot will come, I would like to work with him."

Obi smiled. "I think Master would like that, also. However, first he has another thing to do."

Ryuu's face fell a bit and asked the question, then he remembered to do it himself. "What is it he is to do?"

"He's the surgeon who will perform an experimental surgery on Miss Ilena to see if her leg can be made to work again. When he's done what he can to do that, then he'll be tasked to continue his research, if he can be convinced to come." Ryuu was surprised again, and almost looked even more interested in having the Doctor come. Ryuu found the most joy in research. "Do you think you'll be able to help me convince him to come, Ryuu?" Obi asked.

"I would like that, if I'm able," Ryuu agreed quickly.

"Well, likely you'll get the opportunity," Obi smiled. It was perhaps a good thing he was doing two things at once again.

Ryuu paused, his hands between his knees, then looking up at Obi, he said, "I am glad Miss Ilena encouraged me to ask questions."

Obi studied him. "Does it make you feel better to know?"

"Yes, and that you were the one to tell me," Ryuu looked out the window again, pondering his deep thoughts. Obi thought he didn't look so lonely any more.

-o-o-o-

Ryuu was a bit nervous, but not as bad as he would have been if he'd never been to Lyrias with Shirayuki and Obi. He was also excited. He was finally doing something for himself, for the first time ever. Obi led the way into the tavern, then paused. He wanted to see if the badge of his face worked here, too. He didn't have to wait long, though this time he wasn't grabbed by a young waitress, rather this woman looked like one of the owners.

"Welcome to The Scholars Tavern, sirs." Her voice was low and smooth. "I am Ella. My husband, Rolc, and I are glad you've come tonight. We hope you'll enjoy your time here. Because it's your first time to come, please let me explain the house rules."

Obi and Ryuu listened politely as she explained that the tavern was a quiet place for thinkers to come and get a different perspective on their work or to just let their minds rest for a time. Therefore, they asked for quiet conversations on the main floor. If the conversations became too heated or too many folks joined in, they were welcome to move upstairs to enclosed party rooms. They would be invited to move up to them if they forgot themselves.

"Please enjoy yourselves and relax. ...And Father," she looked at him sharply, "please keep your visits as discrete as possible."

Obi nodded. "Miss Ella, I also would like that very much. While my first visit to the Black Cat was fun, it was a bit overwhelming. Would it be better to give you advanced warning, or shall I attempt to sneak in?" He tried to make the question innocent and sincere.

She looked at him, trying to decide how to answer. "I suppose we could send out the word that if you come here, you're seeking peace and aren't to be disturbed."

"That would be acceptable. Then, if I'm in the mood for fun, I can visit one of the more active locations. Though if someone really needed to talk to me, I wouldn't turn them away."

Ella seemed to like this plan. "We'll see to it. Please come this way."

She led them to a table, nicely laid out, and sat them down. They ordered food and drink - something light for Ryuu who was still learning to hold his alcohol, a stronger drink for Obi who couldn't get drunk no matter how hard he tried.

"Do you know her?" Ryuu asked Obi.

"I do now," Obi said noncommittally. He looked around the room, making his usual check of the area. It looked like a few people had recognized him, but most appeared to just be regular patrons, there for the atmosphere. Then he saw Doctor Elliot, finishing up his dinner. "Excuse me, Ryuu. I've found someone I need to speak with. Will you be okay for a bit?" Ryuu nodded, and Obi slipped over to talk to the Doctor.

Ryuu looked around at the other guests as he waited. It really was surprisingly quiet. It felt like being in Lyrias, in the reading library of the research campus. He assumed that the conference rooms could get as rowdy as the more lively taverns in the city proper, though. He relaxed a little. He was older by more than a year now, and even finally taller, though he'd probably never be much taller than Shirayuki, ...though if he could get to be that tall, that might be enough. It would be good if he could find some friends here to talk to, and if his friends from Lyrias came to visit, this would be a good place to bring them. He looked around again to see if there was anyone who was young enough to fit his personal needs, when he saw Ella bringing his and Obi's food and drink.

 _Ah_ …, he looked around for Obi. He'd seen the food come and was on his way, a nervous looking fellow in tow carrying his drink with him.

"Ryuu, this is Doctor Elliot. Doctor Elliot, Ryuu, Head Court Pharmacist." Both men got sparks of intense interest in their eyes. "Is it okay if he joins us for a bit?" Ryuu nodded enthusiastically.

He thought of all the questions he wanted to ask, trying to sort them into proper order. Then he realized that Obi had continued talking and Doctor Elliot was now answering. Ryuu realized belatedly that it was probably a good idea. Talking about illicit drugs here might not be a good idea, even if it was in a place that understood researchers.

Obi glanced at Ryuu encouragingly. He had asked the surgeon to explain to Ryuu what his current research was. Ryuu blushed, as he hadn't heard from the beginning. "Ah, I'm sorry, it's my first time here. And...I'm a pharmacist."

The surgeon stopped, then smiled. "Ah, I understand. Go ahead and eat. I'll start over and go a little slower." Ryuu nodded his thanks and started eating, paying careful attention this time.

The surgeon explained that he'd been researching how to take a tendon with a piece of the bone it was attached to from a body that had just recently passed, cooling it quickly and deeply to keep the deterioration to a minimum, and using it to replace a tendon in a patient that had the tendon separate from the bone. "Once a tendon has separated from the bone, it can't grow back or heal, so that limb becomes useless. But bone regrows to bone, and tendon to tendon, and muscle to muscle. I think it's harder to match muscle cells, so I've theorized that the tendon to tendon connection is better."

Ryuu understood this concept basically and nodded. It did seem to make sense. The surgeon further explained the basics of body matching - finding a body part from one body and putting it into another was not just as simple as that. If the bodies didn't match, the receiving body would reject the graft. While Ryuu hadn't dealt with it too much in the body, he understood it very well with plants. He commented as such to Doctor Elliot. "Many plants can be grafted, but only to specific other plants. Often it can make the final product stronger, with plants."

Doctor Elliot considered Ryuu's comment and wondered with small mumblings if it was possible for human grafts to be stronger than the original. While he was off in his world, Ryuu had a thought that it was very uncommon to find a place where both plant grafting and human body part grafting could be discussed casually at the same table, particularly without someone else in the room complaining.

He looked at Obi, wondering if he was okay with the topic and if he might be lost. Obi smiled back and lifted his current glass in a little toast. "It's okay, Ryuu. I'm enjoying feeling like I'm back at Lyrias with you and Mistress. I know how to keep up with these kinds of things, after two and a half years of practice." Ryuu nodded, relieved, agreeing that the feeling was rather nostalgic. As he watched Obi, he noticed he was also distracting himself a little with keeping an eye on all the other patrons. That was good. He wouldn't have to worry about people who might complain about their subject matter. Ryuu relaxed a little more. If a problem did come up outside the conversation, Obi would take care of it.

The surgeon returned back to the problem at hand and Ryuu gave him his attention again. "I haven't had the opportunity to actually experiment yet, and there are a few things I haven't worked out. I know how to cut the hole in the receiving bone to put the new bone into it, but I can't decide how to get it to stay still for the two to three weeks it will take for the bones to fuse. In cadavers, even the slightest shifting of the body can make the pieces slip." He described his current vision of some kind of splint that could be attached to the receiving bone to either side of the grafted bone, but he was concerned about how to attach it, and if the receiving bone might split or splinter.

Obi considered the problem for a moment. "How about something like a glue?"

"Eh, a glue?"

Obi nodded. "We use knitbone to help broken bones heal faster. We also use a poultice of _arugulus minorus_ , to minimize the pain, and sap of willeradder, with sometimes...well, a few other things depending on the cause and need, to seal together large wounds that otherwise bandages wouldn't keep closed. I've seen it used by a field surgeon to re-attach a foot to a leg, though the bone in that case was intact. It's viscosity can be made variable by adding witch hazel. I think for your case, all of the things that might be used for bone healing could be added, with a pain reducer - since bone pain is pretty severe, is it not? - and still be used inside the body without too much trouble."

"Hmm...That's not a bad idea. How fast does it set and will the moisture in the body cause it to dissolve or go too thin before the bone can regrow?"

"Mmm...It does need about 5 minutes after placement to set, but since it only thins using witch hazel, the moisture in the body shouldn't affect it too much after the set time, particularly if it was applied thickly enough. Though, would you want to have it a thin enough poultice to capillate into the bone-on-bone connection? Or do you want it to just be a surface cover?"

"Well, if it was just a surface cover, I'd want to apply it to both the front and back side of the receiving bone. My first try is on a hip, which is good because it's a wide bone with good work space. But, I would think reaching the back side of a hip on the patient might be difficult. We'd have to move too many muscles and other tendons around to get to it. If the poultice contains the knitbone I would think it would help to have it capillate into the connection, but would the other ingredients hinder the growth of bone to bone?"

Ryuu took a while to think about each of the ingredients. "No, I don't think so. Maybe only the sap if it took too long to dissolve, but it's the thickest ingredient so is least likely to capillate, especially if the others fill the space first. But if you can't get to the back side of the hip, you may actually want some of the sap to enter the join so you have a more secure connection. I would think a longer dissolve time would be okay if you're looking at a two or more week window anyway. My longer dissolve time isn't that long, more like a few, say three to four, days at most."

"Hmm...that might work then." Doctor Elliot seemed pleased that they might have a workable solution. They paused to take a swallow of their drinks, the traditional mini-celebration of reaching a positive resolution to a problem for all heavy thinkers and part-time drinkers, as well as the filler while their minds spun down and moved to a new topic.

Obi smiled to see the familiar action and followed through with a large swig of his drink, finishing it off, and waving for another to replace it. Ryuu, used to this, just took note of it, but the surgeon stopped for a moment. "How many have you had of that?!"

Obi grinned. "I don't count."

The surgeon looked at him aghast. He was obviously still nursing his first just as Ryuu was. He looked at Ryuu.

Ryuu smiled shyly. "I've been at places like this with Obi a lot. He never gets drunk. It's okay."

The surgeon looked at Obi thoughtfully for a moment, his chin on his palm, elbow resting on the table. "Some day, someone is going to do research on you to find out how to patent and bottle that capability."

Obi laughed. "Then I shall have to be sure they pay me a royalty for every bottle sold. I'll be wealthy inside of a month and never have to work again in my life."

"I should say," the surgeon murmured, looking as if he wished he could be that researcher, and like he might try as his next project, if he could tie Obi down long enough.

Ryuu decided to bring the conversation back. "You said you have other concerns?"

"Ah, yes." The surgeon sat back and turned his drink in his hand. "It's the tendon to tendon connection. They're very fibrous. I think they could be sewn together and they would regrow, the same as the bone would. But I personally don't have a precedent for it, or even for the muscle to muscle option, though it would be interesting if your glue method could be used there somehow." He blushed in embarrassment. "I'm afraid I've done a lot of cadaver work, but it's...you know...difficult to get ...ah, patients...live specimens...as it were. So I'm not sure how to go about thinking about it."

Ryuu nodded. Surgery was certainly something most people would appreciate if it was necessary for their own health, but if it was someone else, it was often thought of as a sort of dark art, to be afraid of - not that _he_ minded it. Many of his own patients thought he was out to poison them before healing them, as frustrating as that attitude was.

"Ah, excuse me." A deep voice said over the table. A chair was pulled out, and a tall, muscular man sat down with them. "I might have the experience you need. Poulter's the name." He passed his thick paw around to shake hands with everyone. Obi quickly introduced everyone. "I'm a large animal veterinarian. I do a lot of work on horses, and they tear ligaments and tendons all the time."

The surgeon's eyes lit up and he turned all his attention to the new man. Poulter told them a story about a client's beloved horse that had torn a back upper tendon "...like on your hip, there, only it didn't separate from the bone, thank the gods. That I couldn't repair, as you say. I used a needle with a wide eye, cut a bit off another tendon that was long enough - one fiber's enough, really, and the other tendon doesn't miss it much. I was all set to go, then realized I was in a pickle." He laughed, sounding nearly like his patients. "I didn't know whether to sew it cross-wise or long-wise! But then I remembered watching the ladies sewing the straps of the kid's overalls together when they'd snapped it playing in the woods. They always did it cross-wise. That made sense to me you see. If it was long-wise, wouldn't the threads just pull through 'n tear the tendon up? But cross-wise should give it strength, like on the overalls. Didn't take long to have her patched up after that."

Ryuu thought of his own mother's stitching that he'd watched in front of the fireplace during the winters. "Did you just do one line, or did you reinforce it with multiple stitches?"

"Eh? Ah, well, when I got done with the first line, I looked at it and couldn't see it working. This was a horse after all. They've got to use a lot of strength, especially in their back legs. That looked pretty weak. So I added another row, and then kept going until it looked right for the size of the mare and the leg." He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it to slowly fall back down into place. "Heh. I suppose it was a bit much, maybe. But in the end it worked. She was up and running again four months later. And by six months the hitch in her step was gone. I've used it every time since then and had just as good results."

"Ah! That's wonderful! Thank you...Poulter," the surgeon gushed. "That shouldn't be too hard then. Hmm...though both her other two tendons on that hip were injured as well. Can they be used? They will have had about 6 weeks to heal up."

Poulter scratched his head. "Well...you want to look for a strand that looks a consistent thickness. It'll break at a thinner spot, just like thread. If there aren't too many of those, you probably don't want to take one from that tendon as it's still healing up and needs all the good strands it's got. But you can take one from anywhere just so it's long enough. After all, you don't have to worry about body typing since it's the patient's own material."

"Ah, that's true. I'll remember that."

Just as they were about to raise their cups to their lips, a woman's voice cut in, "Hey, ye bully boys. Just a sec b'fore ye go c'ngratulatin' yerselves." A plump woman with a height that made it look more like 'ample' came up to the table, set her mug down on it and leaned on her other hand. "If yer talkin' 'bout the hip area on a woman, yeh got more things to think about."

"What's that?" asked the shocked surgeon, suddenly seeming nervous again.

"Is it a woman patient?" Two yesses and a nod of the head (from Obi) answered her. The woman grabbed a chair from the next table over and swung it around between Ryuu and Poulter, it's back to the table. Straddling it, she faced the surgeon directly. She punctuated her sentences with hand gestures as she went. "Look here. I'm a surgical midwife, and one of the hardest things to get other surgeons to recognize is that a man's body and a woman's body's different." Obi snorted into his drink, pulling her gaze. "Well, ye'd think so, wouldn't yeh? But when it comes to what's inside, they don't open up enough women, just the men. ...Well, have yeh yet?!" The sudden return of attention to the surgeon startled him and he panicked a bit. "Yeh, that's what I thought. Yeh haven't yet. Well, if'n yeh can, get yer hands on a female cadaver - at least one - before you open yer patient up. You'll be glad you did."

"Now, see here." she pulled a piece of paper from the breast of her shirt and Ryuu and the surgeon blushed and looked away. Then she pulled out a pen. Putting the pen to the paper, she drew a diagram of the hip area. Ryuu was impressed, and so were the other men. It was well drawn and easily understandable. "Here's yer hip bone and leg socket. The hip's wider and more cupped than a man's. It's got t' handle a baby, see, and birthin' it. If yeh go and put the new tendon in the wrong spot, it'll all get in the way and every birthin' will be hard to impossible and yeh get a dead mother and possibly child for your trouble. Yeh got to know the difference there." She marked the hip area the tendon should roughly go into.

"Then there's the baby's home it'self, and the egg sack and tube." Several pairs of ears went red and Obi leaned in to see better. This was getting really interesting. She went on unfazed, like any true researcher. "While yer in there, yeh gotta check 'n see if there was any damage to either of these. If the womb is damaged and not healing, she'll keep bleeding internally without yeh knowin' about it until her fever's too high and she's already dead."

The surgeon shook his head. "It probably wasn't considered by the surgeon who worked on her at the first, as you say, but she's already past 4 weeks into recovery and hasn't had symptoms of infection since..."

"...Three days in and the field surgeon took out the last of the rock fragments. That seemed to fix it." Obi inserted smoothly.

The midwife looked up at him, her eyes judging him, "Hmph. All right then." she looked back at the surgeon. "But remember it, all right?" Doctor Elliot nodded.

"Then, there's this." She enclosed in a circle the diagram of a little line that extended from the womb to a small oval resting just inside the hip. "This is a tricky thing here. Small and delicate, yet essential to a woman. There's one on each side of the womb, so the other side looks the same. This oval, that's the egg sack. Don't get no children from a woman that doesn't have these. And if one's missin' you'll only get the opportunity to have one every other month. They alternate, once each month, sendin' an egg down the tube to the womb. Then if it's not used, it's flushed out during the woman's bleed time. If the tube is damaged, the egg can get stuck, but what the man supplies can get through, sometimes. Then the child starts trying to grow right there in the tube." She got really serious.

"I'm sure you can imagine that no body's built to handle that situation." Even Ryuu nodded. If the tube was really that narrow no human child would grow in it. "I lost three mothers to this problem. ...Actually, I became a surgeon midwife because of this problem. I dug them all back up and opened them up, and there was this tube, exploded open in the majority of the cases in this one family. It wasn't external abuse, as far as I could tell. I theorize it was a familial problem. But it doesn't take an expert to figure out damage from an external blow would cause the same problem. And sure 'nuff. I lost another one to just that. Now, I ask all my patients before they get pregnant, or as soon after as possible, if they've ever had harsh blows to that part of the body. If'n they have, I go in and check it. If I'm in doubt, I take it out."

She sighed. "Course, now I lose patients by telling them surgery is required if they've been damaged." She ran her hand unconsciously through her hair, then continued. "It's a tube like the ones in a man's sexual organ. Thin and smooth and should be an even thickness though it flutes here at the egg sack. That should look like a beautiful fancy vase, no rips or intense folds. Just ripples." She drew a close-up of the fluted edge as she talked. "If the tube's got dents, cuts, holes, or is discolored anywhere along it, it's probably a bad one and should come out." She paused and looked up at Obi. "She have any kids yet? She old enough to be havn' 'em?"

"No kids yet. Perfect age to be having them."

"Know how many you want yet?"

"Ah, no...," Obi protested, holding a hand up, trying to say it wasn't him, but she ignored him and went back to her paper, tapping the tube with her pen.

"If yeh take out the tube, take out the egg sack too. It makes for recovery complications, but I've always felt I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Recovery complications?" the surgeon asked.

"Ah, yeah. Ever been married, or live with your aging mother?"

"Ah, no."

"Well, then yeh might not understand. But I'll give it a go anyway." She took a breath. "When a girl's becomin' a woman, she goes through emotional swings that stabilize into regular patterns by the time she gets into her 20s. Then she's the most ready to bear children. When a woman's body is gettin' too old, and it's endin' it's baby production time, she goes through those emotional swings again, though sometime worse. Most women'll even have sudden sweats in the advanced stages where their bodies get too hot for no reason. There's nothin' wrong with them 'cept their bodies are shuttin' down the baby production cycle. Well, and they can be insufferable for a sane body to live with when the emotions suddenly flare up and are all over the map. Takin' out this," she tapped the egg sack oval, "makes 'em have those same symptoms, though more mild when only one's taken out. Take both out and it's the same as becomin' an old maid."

"Just that one small part of the body causes all that chaos?" Poulter asked amazed.

"Yup. I've proved it plenty of times now. So you," she pointed her pen at Obi, who tried to protest again, then gave up when he realized he actually _was_ going to have to deal with it, "can expect to have to deal with sudden tears, depression, surprisingly strong anger, yellin' when nothin's brought it on, sometimes even laughing fits from out'a nowhere that dissolve back into tears."

"Ah, how long?" ventured Ryuu, looking worried. He figured he'd have to deal with it too.

"When it's both, up to two to five years depending on the size and age of the woman. The bigger and older, the longer it takes. When it's one, the body stabilizes round about the one and a half to two year mark, but the 'off month' they'll be more moody than the 'on month', though you can't tell sometimes. That's until they reach the end of the baby production line. Then they get the side benefit of having that process be shorter. They've already done half the work, after all." She stopped and looked around the table.

The surgeon looked like he was glad after all that he wasn't married, and maybe he'd just keep it that way. Poulter looked like a light had gone on and he could finally see. Ryuu had a worry crease on his face as he gazed at the hand-drawn picture. Obi recognized it as his thoughtful look. He was soaking it up for future reference, maybe for the time he might have a love of his own and would want to know how to take care of her. Obi was pretty sure he himself was looking morbidly resigned. He put his chin in his hand and sighed. The midwife looked at him shrewdly.

"Yeh all understand now?" Everyone nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," Obi said obediently, which earned a smart-alec grin.

"Thank you very much, ...ah.." the surgeon stopped having not received her name.

The midwife stood up, putting her pen away as she did so, and handed him the paper. "Dr. Elia, Goodwife." she winked at him. "Good luck with the graft."

"Thanks," he replied weakly as she walked off, her mug swinging from one hand, the other raised in farewell.

"Hmm…," Obi said to Poulter, "even if she's your type, you're wife's going to be mad if she sees you looking at another woman like that."

Poulter swung his head around to look at him, then grinned ruefully. "Yeah, well it's rare to find one your kind with that kind of head. Can't help but wish just a little bit... but you're right." Poulter stood, "I should be getting home to the missus. ...But I don't think I'll tell her about the fact that her emotions are controlled by one of the tiniest parts of her body. She'd throw the pitcher, the pot, and the bowl at me. I think I'd rather be warm in bed tonight with her in my arms, than cold on the floor alone. Good luck, surgeon." He waved as he walked toward the door, Doctor Elliot saying a weak 'thanks' again.

The three remaining men looked at each other, then just sat and mutually wound down, silently working their drinks for a while. Obi waited patiently for the higher minds to come back to ground - his didn't take as long.

When it looked like Doctor Elliot was back to earth, Obi asked quietly, keeping the conversation limited to their table, "So, how long before you think you can be ready?"

"Mmm...," the surgeon considered it a while. "Find a female cadaver. Arah! That in itself could be a month. Well, maybe a week if I get one off the black market, maybe. I've already got the potential grafts ready, so no time there, unless none of them work. I've only got three so I hope one of them's a good match. It might not be enough, but she said no more than three tries, and body matching is actually quite difficult. If I have to find more, it's a three week process minimum. Ah, Mister Ryuu, how long would it take you to work up the glue?"

"About 25 minutes," Ryuu answered promptly. "Ten if everything's already gathered together. But we need to use it within 15-20 minutes or it will set and be no good."

"Oh. Then can I impose on you to be present and be my assistant? I'm going to need a second set of hands. My usual assistant will be on the table this time and not able to help." He was smiling a little reminiscently.

"Ah, okay. ...Um, maybe Miss Shirayuki could help, too?" Doctor Elliot nodded. He was looking a little distant.

"Is something wrong?" asked Obi.

"Ah, no," the surgeon said, "It's just...I likely won't get to have her help anymore, will I? It feels a bit...lonely, I guess."

"Yes, I suppose it would," agreed Obi, then casually added, "If it gets too lonely, maybe you could consider working at the castle as a court surgeon."

Ryuu glanced at Obi out of the corner of his eye. Even he knew how to tell now when Obi was fishing. He kept his face carefully composed.

"Eh? What's that?" the surgeon was surprised out of his train of thought.

"Well, you know," Obi shrugged. "Sometimes even the palaces need new researchers with their ideas to come into the team. But I know you're probably pretty busy and all."

"Well, no, not really. Wound it all down to come out here for the Missus. I've been focused on helping her out with the hip repair, but there's not much after that right now. ...Except _you_ intrigue me..." He leaned forward.

Obi laughed easily, leaning away, his hands up as if to protect himself. "Well, you know, I'm in the castle at Master's beck and call. Can't say if I'd be available, but I know Ryuu has a lot of questions he wants to ask you. And the Missus will be needing you close by to monitor her recovery..."

Doctor Elliot leaned back and crossed his arms, pretending to think about it. "Well, then, alright. If the Regent will have me, I'll come. Cadavers?"

"No black-market ones, I'm afraid, but perhaps...ex-prisoners instead? And whatever you need from the normally acceptable sources."

The surgeon's eyes lit up. "Can you get me a female within this week?"

Obi smiled. Money always made acquisition easier. "I think we might be able to."

"I can be there tomorrow."

"Good. Come to the Pelican gate."

"Okay," the surgeon rubbed his hands together.

Obi downed his yellow liquid then rose. "Let's head back, Ryuu, if you're ready."

Ryuu jumped up from the table. "Okay, Obi. It was nice to get to talk with you, Doctor Elliot. I look forward to working with you." He held out his hand, and Doctor Elliot took it in a handshake.

"Likewise."

As they walked out the door, Obi put his hands behind his head and looked up at the night sky, then down at his companion. "That was fun, wasn't it, Ryuu?"

Ryuu looked up at him, then back at the tavern. "Yes, it was." He was looking forward to his next visit.

-o-o-o-

After dropping Ryuu off, Obi went up to Zen's room to report. After feeling nostalgic about Lyrias, he was feeling the need to see his Master. Those two years he, Shirayuki, and Ryuu had been there had been difficult in the sense that he'd become very lonely for Master, and that had been reawoken. Zen's room here at Wilant Castle didn't have an exterior accessway - it was considered a security risk - so Obi had to enter from the main hall. He was grateful that Zen allowed him access through the guards, though he'd been made to promise that he wouldn't abuse the privilege. As Obi walked into the spacious room, Zen looked up from his reading.

"Obi." Zen greeted him.

"Can I join you on the bed?" Obi asked him.

"No. Why?" Zen was quick to answer.

Obi went and stood by the bed, rather than flopping into his usual place on the settee. Zen raised an eyebrow at the less than typical behavior. "I've just come from The Scholars Tavern. Doctor Elliot will be here tomorrow morning. He's agreed to come to the castle. I took Ryuu with me." He then gave the full report to Zen. "I put in a requisition order for two female cadavers after I dropped off Ryuu. I believe that Doctor Elliot should be ready to perform the experimental surgery only a few days after he arrives, though it's a guess, of course. And Ryuu is looking forward to working with him on the Little Death experiments."

Zen was thoughtful. "What do you think of Doctor Elliot?"

"He's competent, intelligent, careful, indebted to Ilena, capable of being easily bullied, easily bribeable if it benefited his research, a bachelor-for-life. The life of a closeted intellectual shows through."

"Eh. Then... Well, for now it will do. It sounds like a reasonable plan they worked out. So, Ryuu's on board? Will he be helping?"

"Yes. He wants Mistress too as well."

"Ah, well, that...," Obi could see having Shirayuki help with a surgery was not something Zen was comfortable with, but then not many people were comfortable with the thought of surgery. "She"ll probably enjoy learning something new, though, eh?"

"That would be like her," Obi agreed.

Zen looked down at the document he was reading. "Mother - Ilena - has an interesting past, doesn't she." His voice was soft.

Obi nodded. "Watching them tell their stories is intense. If you ever get the opportunity to, you should have even one of them tell you in person. Because she rescues them from extremely difficult circumstances, they can't hold back their emotions when they remember them." Obi was remembering all the tears shed on his first trip out.

Zen looked at Obi out of the corner of his eye. "I think I've already had that opportunity, once. I seem to remember it being about that way."

Obi looked at him in mild surprise, then remembered he'd told his own story. "Heh. I suppose. But my story isn't as intense as theirs."

"No? Well, it seemed that way to me, but maybe that's because it is still being written." Obi looked at Zen with affront, but Zen refused to look at him, affecting an air of disinterest. "Well, the stories do make it easier to understand why they support her, at least." Zen frowned. "I still feel like she's picking and choosing people very carefully. ...Though one person can only do so much. It would be like her to be careful with her capacity."

"Well, and these are the ones she reserved for the particular reason of taking down Earl College," Obi said. "I haven't yet received any stories from those she has in the general network. ...Though they're probably similar."

Zen nodded agreement. "If you do happen to get any of those stories, I'd like them also."

"May I have the book back when you are done reading?" Obi asked. "I expect more stories to come in as we collect other witnesses. I'd like to put them all together into one report." In reality, he wanted to be able to re-read them.

Zen looked like he knew Obi's ulterior motive. "Mmm...I'm not done, though. I'll keep it for a few days. I shouldn't stay up much longer tonight."

Obi agreed that it was a bit late for Master to be up, but he was glad that he was so they could visit.

"Will you be with Ilena tonight?" Zen asked him.

Obi nodded. "I'll go there next. I sent Ryuu to bed. He's still not holding his alcohol well - and he only had one mug." He gave Zen a conspiratorial grin, which was returned.

"Well, be sure you come to the office in good time in the morning. You were gone all afternoon so your stacks are starting to increase again."

Obi groaned. "Master, how am I supposed to do all those stacks and stand with Mistress?"

"Do them at the same time?" Zen raised his eyebrows at him. "Or do them while you're with Ilena, like Ryuu and Shirayuki?"

Obi sighed. "I do need to sleep sometimes, Master. ...Can I come sleep next to you tonight?"

"No. Why?" was the immediate response.

"Because I was made to remember Lyrias. I miss you all over again."

Zen stared at Obi, not quite sure what to say about that. "No."

"Heeh. Well, talking to you has helped. I'll sit with you until you're ready to sleep, then." He turned to go to the settee.

Zen snapped the records in front of him closed. "I'm ready now." He set it on the table beside him, on the far side away from Obi.

Obi looked at him dejectedly, knowing he'd been rejected. "That's harsh, Master."

"Get out. Go sleep with Mother." Zen looked at him with a firm face, but his eyes were kind.

Obi slumped his shoulders in defeat and headed for the door. "Good night, Master."

"I'll see you in the morning." Zen wanted to reinforce his requirement that Obi be in the office early.

-o-o-o-

Obi wandered around the castle. In truth, he didn't want to be in that small room tonight. He was having those complicated feelings again, and they were making him restless. He wondered if Mistress was still awake, then decided he'd better not. It might make Master upset with him if he'd been to her room this late at night. But then he looked up and found he was there anyway. He sighed. He really needed to learn to pay attention to what he was doing better. He leaned against the wall outside her door and closed his eyes, listening. What was she doing? Was she awake and still reading, or was she sleeping?

"Ah! Obi?!"

Obi's eyes snapped open. "Mistress?" She was coming towards him, holding a book to her, still dressed in her uniform. "Are you just coming?" He wondered if he'd been asleep on his feet, to have not heard her coming.

"Mm. I had more work to get done after dinner with Ilena. What are you doing?"

"I've just returned from recruiting Doctor Elliot for Master, and reporting to him."

"Eh, he's going to be in the castle?"

Obi nodded. "Master wants the Little Death researcher where he can keep an eye on him." Shirayuki nodded. She could understand that. Obi had the sudden thought that he was going to be sent to requisition a room for him, too. Maybe he should do it on his way to the office, to just get it done early. _Hahhh_. He was getting too much like Mister. "Mistress, do you want to run away from the castle for a few hours with me? I found a new place like Lyrias you would like." He gave her a grin.

She shook her head. "I would like to go on my next break, but tonight isn't good."

Obi shrugged as if he'd expected that answer, and he had, but he really did want to escape. "Mistress...," he said hesitantly trying to find the words. Shirayuki readied herself. She'd seen this before. Obi was struggling with a thing he couldn't solve. "At this place, even Obi has become too busy." He looked at her sadly. "I can't be for Mistress what Obi needs to be. What shall I do?"

Shirayuki took a breath. It had hurt to hear it, though it was already becoming obvious. The fact that he'd only today been able to come to her, when he'd been back for at least a few days, had accentuated his absence in her daily life. "It's okay, Obi."

He shook his head. "It is not okay. Mistress is too lonely."

Shirayuki nodded. "Yes, I am. That's why I'm doing what I can to change that. That's why I've decided to talk to Ilena. Even if I don't do things as she would, she can give me the strength to move forward to be where I want to be." Obi looked at her appraisingly. She seemed to be stronger just having said that.

"Obi, you remember I'm the one who said that you needed a partner, so that when you couldn't stand beside me, your partner could? And that when you needed strengthening, your partner would be there to strengthen you?" Obi nodded. "I chose Ilena. _I_ did that." Her look was very earnest. "If you can't be present for me enough at this time, rely on your partner. Even though she can't come stand with me at this time, I can go to her when I need her. She is always present at that place."

Obi did the equivalent of taking a step back, though he was already leaning against the wall. Mistress was glowing. He stared at her, wide-eyed, then he bowed slightly. "Yes, Mistress. ...And I'll come to you when I can."

Shirayuki shifted her stance. "And, Obi...can I come to you?"

Obi's eyes flew wide again. He considered office and palace protocol, then nodded. "Yes. If you need Obi, then you may come to me." Shirayuki looked relieved. Obi smiled, trying to make a joke, "You'll almost always find me in Master's office, when I'm in the castle."

"I know," Shirayuki smiled, and Obi thought her expression looked very calculating, for Mistress.

After leaving Shirayuki in her room, Obi went up on the roof again. He walked slowly towards Ilena's room, thinking. His Mistress was teaching him what it was for him to have a partner to stand behind her. It did bring him comfort to know she wasn't alone. Then there was the other half. _When you need strengthening, your partner would be there to strengthen you_. Most of the time when he was with Ilena, she just made him confused, but when he read the stories about her, when she gave advice, when Master had been stronger from talking to her - such things did strengthen him. Could he rely on Ilena, the way his Mistress was?

He dropped down silently into the medical wing and walked up to Ilena's door. It was strangely quiet to not find Ryuu there. He nodded at the guards and turned the handle on the door.

Ilena was awake, waiting for him. "Good evening," he said quietly as he walked to his place.

"Good evening," she responded quietly.

Was her being awake for him a thing she did to support him? It was almost beginning to feel like coming home. He knew his being there was a support to her. As her partner, that was also his responsibility, one he'd already come to accept. It was his to be there to see that she was comforted of the shared feeling they had of being trapped in small rooms, so that she could rest, so that she could do her duty during the day. She did the same for him. He really could sleep better when the room had another living person in it, even when it was this small.

"Are there no questions tonight?"

"No," he responded just as gently as she'd asked.

They were quiet for a while longer, then Ilena asked, "What do you need, Obi?"

"Haaah. For some reason, it always catches me off guard when you're actually Mother in front of me." He could feel her smile. She waited. "For the first time since I've been back I was able to be with Mistress today. I wasn't even told she'd been given her afternoons back until after we'd been here earlier today. ...Even though I walk at the back of Mistress, Master has need of me in his office daily in this place. To be with Mistress today was what I desired, but Master has called me back already." Obi paused, not quite sure what to say next.

Hesitantly, because she wasn't sure it was her turn to talk yet, Ilena said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Mistress Shirayuki's new schedule. I should have done that first. I'll tell you first in the future, if there's a thing about Mistress Shirayuki." Obi hadn't been scolding her, yet she'd understood that for her to be his strength he needed to know such things. When he didn't say anything in response, she continued. "It must be very hard to feel she's alone when you've been able to be her support for these last many years."

Obi looked up at the dark ceiling. "She said to me that she chose you to be my partner so that when I couldn't be present, I could know there was still one who was with her. She said that I should learn to rely on you. ...And she reminded me that you're always present for her at this place." He looked back down at his feet, hidden by the darkness. "It was comforting."

There was companionable silence between them for a while.

"I wish to be your support, Obi. I'll do my best from where I am. I'm glad she's willing to come to me when she has need." Ilena's full heart finally found words.

Obi paused a little longer. "...I will leave it to you, then." It was a thing he'd heard Mitsuhide and Kiki say to each other when they'd had to carry separate burdens for a time. Now he might truly understand how difficult those times were for them.


	17. Shirayuki Gets Pushed into a Corner

_Yeay! A Shirayuki chapter, in which we get to see how she thinks and she finally gets the push she needs. (This is a chapter for those of you frustrated with the slow speed of the SxZ relationship in the manga. :-D )_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 17 Shirayuki Gets Pushed into a Corner**

Obi left early the next morning so he could stop by the chatelain's office yet again, this time for Doctor Elliot. He would need both a laboratory and sleeping quarters, and regular pay. He received a location and keys, and a promise the castle identification would be completed by the next morning. While he was there, they handed him the identification tags for Ilena's staff, since he was the one tasked to give them. Then he went to the gate, figuring Doctor Elliot would be there early. He was.

"Good morning, Doctor Elliot," he said as he walked up to the gate, where the guards had asked the researcher to wait until Obi came to get him.

"Ah! Good morning!" The surgeon seemed excited to able to move forward. He had a large bag with him. The guards had already searched it, and weren't sure about letting a person with such implements into the castle grounds, thus they hadn't let him enter unescorted. Obi explained to them who and what the doctor was and that he would be on the castle staff from that day, so that he could come and go as needed. Obi walked him first to his new residence and handed him his keys. Then they went to the laboratory, where Doctor Elliot dropped off his bag of surgical equipment. He looked around and smiled. "This will do nicely," he approved. "When can I expect my cadavers?"

"I placed the order last night when I came back. Perhaps by today?"

Doctor Elliot rubbed his hands together. "That would be marvelous. I could probably do the surgery within four days, then. I'll go back out in a bit to collect my other things, but may I first see Missus Ilena?"

Obi nodded. "Certainly."

When they arrived at Ilena's room, she was being aided by Shirayuki and the castle nurse she'd been assigned. Obi felt a twinge of jealousy. That had been his job, too. There seemed to be many changes lately that didn't feel like happy ones. He stepped in and helped. While he was here with the surgeon, he may as well get in some of the time he wanted. He was already practiced at that, anyway. When they were done, Doctor Elliot examined Ilena one more time. Obi, watching him, decided he was trying to see if he could feel what he'd learned about the evening before, not having a cadaver yet to open.

"Can you tell?" he asked over the surgeon's shoulder.

Doctor Elliot looked at him sideways. "No. It is indeed very small. I won't be able to tell until I'm inside."

"Tell what?" Ilena asked. She wanted to know what it was they were talking about. It was her body after all.

"Master Obi came and found me at The Scholars Tavern last night. He brought Mister Ryuu with him, and we had an interesting discussion with a few other patrons about your case. There was one thing in particular I was told to look for, but it's a very small thing. I can't tell by external palpitation whether there's a problem or not. I'll have to look when I perform the surgery." At her concerned look, he added, "It isn't a thing for concern at the moment, just something that I should look at." Ilena nodded, trusting him. Obi thought it was almost funny that the surgeon didn't want to discuss the particulars with Ilena. He knew _she_ wouldn't have a problem with the details. "Obi's promised me cadavers for the final bits of research by sometime today," Doctor Elliot continued. "I should be ready to perform the surgery within four days, I should think, if they come that quickly."

Ilena's eyes widened a little. So did Shirayuki's. "That's very soon, then, isn't it?"

Doctor Elliot nodded, smiling. "The sooner we can complete it, the sooner you can be out of here, no?"

"Yes," said Ilena. It was obvious she wanted out, but that she also wasn't wanting the enforced imprisonment to continue again so soon.

Doctor Elliot turned to look at the other ladies in the room, his eyes resting on Shirayuki's red hair, as was typical of most people meeting her for the first time.

"Mistress, this is Doctor Elliot," Obi introduced them. "Doctor Elliot, this is Shirayuki, -"

He was cut off by Shirayuki herself. "- Ilena's Mistress." She stood tall and firm.

The room was in shocked silence for just a moment. Obi quickly and smoothly recovered. "Ilena's and my Mistress. This is Anna, the court nurse assigned to assist with Ilena." Anna bowed to the surgeon.

Doctor Elliot recovered. He bowed to Shirayuki. "It's an honor to meet my mistress's Mistress. Ah...eh...when I spoke to Mister Ryuu last night, it was decided that he would need to be present to help with the surgery. He suggested that you might also assist. Has he spoken to you about it?"

Shirayuki shook her head. "I come here first from my rooms. I won't be speaking to Ryuu until after lunch today. ...However, if I can be of assistance, I would be happy to be available."

"Thank you very much. Also, it's likely Anna could also be of assistance," he looked to her and she nodded. That was pretty much her job right now, anyway. "However, it will be difficult to perform the surgery in this room, particularly with that many people." He turned to Obi. "If a larger room could be found? I could do it in my lab, and we could transport her, but it would be simplest if we could perform the surgery in a room she was expected to remain in for her recovery period."

Obi nodded. "I can arrange that." Internally he sighed. It was back to the chatelain's office for him, once again. He was going to be late to the Rose office after all, that morning. "If you're done with Ilena, I'll escort you back to the gate. Her maids should have arrived by now. I'll have to ask you to find your way back here by yourself, I'm afraid."

"I think I can manage," Doctor Elliot said. "I've been here twice now, and I can ask guards."

"Ask them for the way to the pharmacy. We're still protecting Ilena's presence in the castle." Obi was just a bit harsh. Shirayuki looked at him strangely.

Doctor Elliot stopped with his mouth open, then closed it and nodded. "I'll do that."

They bid their farewells to the ladies and headed out to the gate again. There Obi did indeed trade Doctor Elliot for Leah and Rio, who were just being escorted through the gate by Grandfather. Obi offered to Grandfather that he didn't need to walk all that way this morning, as he could escort the maids. Ilena was with Shirayuki for the morning, but if he could come in the evening after the dinner hour, that would be best. Obi was thinking that if he came after Ryuu was supposed to leave, Ryuu might actually go back to his office like he was supposed to. It would also occupy Ilena during the hours before he himself arrived. Grandfather agreed, accepted his castle identification, and left with Doctor Elliot.

Obi introduced himself to the maids on the way to taking them to their quarters and gave them their castle identifications. It was always better to take people to their quarters first, then help them to see the way they should go from there. "It's good for you to be here for Ilena. Here at the castle, please refer to me by my name." He looked at them quizzically. "You do know it, don't you?"

"Yes, Master Obi," the elder one, Leah answered. Rio nodded also. Obi wondered. The surgeon had refer to him as 'master' as well. He was, to the Family, both 'Father' to Ilena's 'Mother', and 'Master' to her 'Mistress'. He sighed. It was a reminder that she wanted him. He tried to push it aside. He was just now coming to accept 'partner'. The others would need to wait a little longer. "Will you tell me, in brief, your relationship to Ilena?"

Leah went first again, though she gave him a look that said, _I know you remember me and my story._ He did, but he still wasn't going to admit it - yet. "Since Mistress Ilena became the steward of Farmor, I've been her secretary."

Rio answered next. "I was one of the maids in the main house. Mistress Ilena has been kind enough to consider me a close aide for the last seven years."

Obi looked at her sideways. "And Rio has been kind enough to put up with the real, very emotional, Ilena."

Rio flushed and Leah said, "Grandfather did say that she's been a bit difficult, and that's one of the reasons we've been summoned."

"Yes," Obi admitted. "She herself has done it, though. Master understood the need and approved it."

They accepted this information, it seemed with a little bit of relief. "It's good she is aware of herself, then."

Obi nodded, then thought of something. "Ah, but she may not be after this next surgery." They looked at him quizzically, a little concerned. "There may be the necessity of removing a damaged organ. The surgeon won't know until he's in surgery with her, but he learned of it last night. Apparently, if the organ is damaged, it will need to be removed. It isn't life threatening to remove it, but it will cause her to go through sudden emotional fluctuations that she won't be able to control."

He looked with speculation at Leah. She looked old enough to understand. "The organ is one of two that, when it naturally ceases to function, causes the emotional fluctuations and hot sweats of aging women." She looked at him in surprise, and he nodded. "The surgical midwife who told us this last night assured us that if the one must be removed, the emotional fluctuations shouldn't last as long, nor be as severe, as if she were naturally losing the function of both. She will also be able to have children still, as the second organ is not likely damaged. It will just take more time and care."

Leah looked relieved. She sighed. "Well, it's good you've forewarned us of this. We'll take care of Mistress Ilena."

Obi nodded. They had arrived at their quarters. He opened the door with the key. They entered and quickly put away their things. He locked the door behind them and handed them each a key to the room. "Ilena's room is in the medical wing. If, in the first few days, you need to ask for directions, ask only for the medical wing. Ilena is still being protected by Master."

They nodded their understanding, then paid close attention to the path they took to her room, as all good staff would. When they arrived at the room, Obi decided he wouldn't go in...or he might not leave. Rather, he introduced them to the guards, so they would know their faces, then said his farewells and headed back to the Rose office. He'd have Zen requisition the larger room for Ilena. It would take his signature anyway.

He walked into the office. "You're late." It was hard to tell who said it. No one lifted their heads up.

"I've been being Mister."

"Oh?" That got a head up. "What pile of mine are you taking today?"

"Orderer and deliverer of keys and tags." Obi walked towards Zen's desk.

"That's what messages and pages are for, Obi."

"I _am_ the Prince's Messenger."

"...True." The head went back down, and Zen's came out from behind his current summary as Obi arrived at his desk.

"Doctor Elliot arrived early this morning. I've requisitioned for him quarters with the other medical staff, and a laboratory, and ordered his identification. He should be receiving his cadavers by this afternoon. He says he can probably begin the surgery in four days if they come today. He's inspected Ilena," pens stopped scratching momentarily, then resumed, "and has left the castle grounds again to retrieve his personal effects." Obi stopped and smiled. "He arrived this morning with only his surgical kit." Zen smiled back. Surely only a researcher would think that was the most important thing to carry around, and completely forget the rest.

"Ilena's secretary and aide have arrived, as well. I took them to their room, gave them their identifications and keys, and showed them the way to Ilena's room." He could see that Zen had understood his meaning in giving their actual titles, instead of calling them generally maids. "I've forewarned them of what to expect after the surgery, as well." Zen nodded. "I've asked Grandfather to visit with Ilena after the dinner hour, both to keep her occupied in the evening, and to force Ryuu to return to his office. He has been feeling too bad for her. Doctor Elliot would like to perform the experimental surgery in a larger room than the one Ilena is in currently, preferably one he can leave her in for the recovery period. ...It would be helpful if it were large enough to have a second bed."

Obi wasn't fooling Zen, but then he knew Obi didn't sleep deeply when he was on duty, for the most part. "Mitsuhide, draw up the requisition and I'll sign it."

"Obi, write it up for one of the rooms on the other side of the pharmacy offices, closer to the surgical section. The castle plans are in the top drawer of the map desk," Mitsuhide was quick to take advantage of Obi having already started on the path of taking that task from him.

Obi sighed. "Okay."

Zen was surprised at his obedience without complaint. So were the others, by the cessation of scratching for a brief moment again. Zen leaned forward and put his chin in his hand. "Okay, Obi. What's going on?"

"What?" said Obi as he headed over to the map cabinet. "Just...my partner's handling it." He pulled out the first drawer and started flipping through the maps for the medical wing.

He missed seeing Mitsuhide and Kiki lift their heads long enough to look at each other and smile, then smile at Zen, who was grinning broadly.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki was discussing with Ilena the outline of her plan to go to visit Zen in his office, trying to flesh it out verbally, when there was a knock at the door. The guards admitted two women. The older matron was fairly short and sturdy, her slightly greying hair up in the ubiquitous bun of working women who needed their hair out of their face. The other was a slender young woman about the ages of Ilena and Shirayuki, her dark hair plaited and coiled on her head.

"Nana! Rio!" Ilena cried out in joy, tears springing to her eyes. "Welcome! Come in...come here!" She reached out her hands for them.

Rio rushed to her and grabbed her in a careful hug, crying tears of happiness as well. Leah walked in more sedately, though Shirayuki could tell she was just as happy to see with her own eyes that her mistress was safe. The wetness of her eyes gave it away.

While Ilena was occupied with Rio, Leah turned to Shirayuki and bowed. "Mistress Shirayuki, I am Leah, Mistress Ilena's secretary and one-time nurse."

Shirayuki reached out and took her hand. "Welcome. I'm glad to be able to meet you. Thank you for coming to be with Ilena. She has sorely missed you."

Leah bowed, embarrassed. Then Ilena was calling for her, and she and Rio traded places, Leah comforting a bawling Ilena, Ilena's need for her comforting the nurse in return.

"Mistress Shirayuki, it is a pleasure to greet you," Rio was very polite. "I am Rio, Mistress Ilena's personal maid."

"Thank you for coming also," Shirayuki said. "I'm glad Ilena won't be lonely any longer."

"I wasn't that lonely, Mistress Shirayuki," objected Ilena. "I've had you and Ryuu and Obi for company."

"Hush, Mistress Ilena," said Leah. "It is obvious by your extreme emotional display that you have been difficult enough."

Ilena pouted. "I miss everyone I love, Leah, but some more than others. You know that."

Leah relented. "Yes, I do know." She ran her hand over Ilena's hair, smoothing it, her eyes soft. Shirayuki could tell it was an unconscious motion from years of comforting her. Somehow it felt like what a mother would do for a loved child. She was glad to see the Ilena who could be herself with people she cared for. "And have you been able to find a place here, Mistress Ilena?" Leah asked.

Ilena looked at her soberly, then pulled out her identification. As Leah looked at it, then Rio, Ilena said, "Master Zen has made me to be in a lesser position until I've finished proving myself." Shirayuki was surprised that Ilena would say 'director' was a lesser position than what she expected to receive. To her, a director was a pretty high office, like that of Head Pharmacist. "But it's still more than I expected to have received by this early time. Has Grandfather said?"

Leah and Rio nodded. Ilena continued. "I _should_ be very busy from then on, but I am scheduled to have the surgery in only a few days."

Leah considered. "I don't think that Regent Zen intends for you to run overly fast at this time, Mistress Ilena. He is aware of your needs."

Shirayuki nodded. "Yes, he is, Ilena." The other ladies looked at her, to see what she would say. "Zen only asks for that which each is capable of, though at least that much. Even if he wants to see what you can do, he will be angry if you don't take care of yourself the way you should."

Leah nodded and looked back at Ilena. "You see, it is so, Mistress Ilena. We'll help you, both to do your duty, and to recover properly."

Ilena looked at them both, then nodded. "Mistress Shirayuki and I are in the middle of a discussion. So for the morning, I would have you be my legs. Go and learn the castle. When you arrive at the library, I need reference materials on the running of a castle and it's many offices, in general and in particular. If there's a text that is specific to my title, that is also needed. I don't know what my expected duties are, only that Master Zen has said I report to him directly. I'll need, by tomorrow, a detailed list of those who currently fill all of the offices and what their offices are so that I may learn it." Shirayuki thought the last request was a bit much to be asking of two women who had just entered the castle, but they nodded obediently, as if such a request was not uncommon. Then they excused themselves from the room.

"Ilena...just what is it you're to do...or rather, why is it Zen has set you to be his Director of Intelligence?" Shirayuki's curiosity couldn't be contained any longer.

Ilena smiled. "Exactly for what I just did." Shirayuki was understandably confused. "I ask people to collect information for me. When I need that information, I ask them to tell it to me, or to the person who needs to hear it."

Shirayuki could understand that, but it wasn't really sufficient. She frowned. "But, Ilena, wouldn't it take someone with a lot of people collecting a lot of information for them to qualify for the position of a director?"

Ilena continued to smile. "Yes, Mistress." Shirayuki looked at her. Ilena didn't look away. "It also means that the correct information is being collected. When I began, the information I wanted to know is, _Where is Wellesley now?_ But that wasn't the only question I was asking. I was also asking, _Who has the right information to prove Earl College has evil intentions towards the throne?_ This is why Master Zen has brought me here to the castle and protects me. In protecting me here, he is protecting the information he needs to answer that question."

Shirayuki was beginning to understand, "So, Zen made you the director because you've brought that information to him?"

Ilena shook her head. "If that was all I'd done, then the position is nothing but a mere reward, or a bribe if it looked like I required it to give him the information I have."

Shirayuki shook her head. "That isn't Zen."

"No, it isn't," Ilena agreed, "or I would have refused the appointment more strenuously."

"You refused it?"

"Yes. It came too soon. I haven't earned it in the eyes of the other lords and cabinet members. They don't even know my name, yet. Nevertheless, there is a new Director of Intelligence for the Regent."

Shirayuki nodded. If Zen had told the Head of the Pharmacy department at Wistal to make her a Court Pharmacist because he wanted her to be one, she would also have refused. But he'd allowed her to earn it on her own merits. "Zen isn't that way either. If he's given you the title, it's because you've earned it."

Ilena paused, then carefully said, "He believes I've earned it already in his older brother's eyes. I can neither confirm nor deny it. Izana hasn't spoken to me."

That was another thing that bugged Shirayuki. She may as well ask while she was asking questions. "Why do you speak so informally about the King? Even Zen, from early on?"

"I can only tell you that the King and I know of each other, and I have known of Zen since he was born. I may not say any more than that."

Shirayuki considered the answer. She was asking for the information that even Zen couldn't tell her. It would have to be sufficient. But it spoke of a close tie between them, as she'd seen when Zen had asked her to come in and help him see the mark on her. What could it be? It ate at her, but she still must be patient, for Zen's sake. It did help to know that it was a tie between Ilena and King Izana as well, not just between Ilena and Zen. "So... the information you collect...it's things that Zen needs to know?"

Ilena nodded. "For a very long time now, Izana and I've had an arrangement. I will collect the information the Regent of Wilant needs to know, keeping Wilant, and therefore Clarines, secure for the people, and in return, if Zen can learn to use me properly, Izana will allow me to stand at his side. If I cannot stand at Zen's side, Izana will use me for the same purpose, most likely, but will take me for himself. He already knows how to use someone such as myself."

"What is the place you wish to stand in?"

"It's as I've said before, but I believe the position Zen is thinking of is Minister of Intelligence."

"Minister!?" Shirayuki's eyes got very big.

Ilena nodded soberly. "I won't be able to remain at his side if I'm anything less."

To Shirayuki, that was a frightening thought. How could a Court Pharmacist hope to be the mistress of a Court Minister?

Ilena saw Shirayuki's panic. "Mistress Shirayuki," she called to Shirayuki. When Shirayuki looked at her, she kindly said. "You are thinking too less of yourself."

Shirayuki was confused again. "But, a Minister…," she said faintly.

"Shirayuki." Ilena's voice was commanding. "You. Are. _Not_. Here. To be. A Court. Pharmacist!" Shirayuki's head swam. "Nor would I be willing to have you as my Mistress if that is all you were here to be. I've known from the beginning what I will become."

Shirayuki tried to put it together. Ilena knew from the beginning she would have to become Zen's Minister of Intelligence if she was going to stand at his back, and at Obi's side. (Shirayuki's mind shied away from the thought of what Obi would have to become to be able to stand at the side of a Minister. She was already overwhelmed enough.) Even knowing that, Ilena had consented obediently to be Shirayuki's aide and guardian. What position did Ilena expect of her, if it wasn't the Court Pharmacist she'd already attained on her own power? Her brain couldn't see it, her head and heart were so overwhelmed.

There was one thought. It came out cold. "Are you saying my efforts have been wasted? That I should not strive for that which I can do to be where I want to be?" She knew it wasn't so. Ilena had already supported her in her goal to be where she wanted to be, but it _had_ sounded like Ilena felt that her efforts were superfluous.

Ilena's eyes narrowed. "That is for you to judge. If you will give up halfway, I would know it now."

That brought Shirayuki up short. "No. I will not give up," she said softly, her mind fixed firmly on her goal. Then she looked directly at Ilena. "If I'm not here to be a court pharmacist, then tell me, what am I here to be?"

Ilena sighed. "Mistress Shirayuki, if you cannot figure that out, even still, then you are already too late." She looked at her sadly. "I will give you until tomorrow to answer me that question."

 _Too late?_ Shirayuki's heart clenched, as did the hand she was holding over it to protect it. What had she not understood up until this point?

Ilena said quietly, "Mistress Shirayuki. Go, and think on the answer to that question. You can't act effectively without the answer."

Shirayuki nodded, floating in a sea without a boat for the first time in many years. She took her leave, going to the herb gardens, where she would be able to think while her hands kept busy.

-o-o-o-

Ilena pondered soberly for a moment, then called out to the guards. When they opened the door and asked what they could do for her, she asked them to send for Obi. He needed to know. She'd promised she would tell him the things of Shirayuki.

He arrived very soon thereafter. He had not once been summoned by Ilena until now. Even Zen was concerned. He noticed first off that she was alone, and it wasn't quite the lunch hour. "What is it, Ilena?" he walked over to a position where they could converse comfortably.

She looked back at him soberly. "It's Mistress Shirayuki."

Obi's heart stopped and his hand involuntarily clenched. "Shall I go to her?"

"...I cannot say if you are the best to go to her or not."

"What happened?"

"She's finally asked me why I'm here and what Master Zen wishes to do with me." Obi couldn't quite see. "It was necessary to answer her that I will become a Minister." Obi was starting to get it. "She was unable to conceive how a Minister can stand behind a Court Pharmacist."

Obi sighed and closed his eyes. "And what did you say to her?"

"That she isn't here to be a court pharmacist." Obi felt his heart sink, but nodded that he'd heard her. Ilena continued, "She asked me what she was here to be, then?" Obi opened his eyes and looked at Ilena, his eyes very deep. Ilena fought the urge to gulp. "I told her that if she still couldn't answer that question, then she was already too late, and that I would expect her answer to the question by tomorrow."

Obi held himself still by force of will. He wanted to chase after Shirayuki. She always took such questions very seriously and considered them deeply. However, she was never quite able to answer them on her own, not when she continuously thought too little of herself, or needed the approval of Zen. His second reaction was to find Zen. In the past, that had always been the answer. Zen had been able to calm her, help her to understand in the past. But was that the right thing this time? Even Zen had been trying to help her see what position she was aiming for, but still she'd refused to open her eyes and accept it. Ilena had pushed her very hard into this corner, to make her understand. It was a place Shirayuki needed to be, if she was really ever to become what she wanted to be, but Obi was still not pleased with Ilena. Zen wouldn't be either. He sighed, forcing himself to relax. This was the very sort of thing Zen had put him in this place to see to. Shirayuki could stand to think for a while. He needed to deal with Ilena first. But what to say?

"Ilena, you have pushed too hard." His voice was also hard.

Ilena looked at him, not giving in, but also not retaliating. "There is a possibility I have pushed Mistress Shirayuki too hard. I don't know. I do know that until this time, she hasn't been pushed hard enough, but has been allowed to wander in the darkness of her own making. That is equally harmful. ...Unless Master Zen has commanded that she be led blindfolded until she is left behind?"

Obi took a deep breath. Ilena was being particularly difficult today. He was glad Zen hadn't been there to hear that comment. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Master has done no such thing. It is a thing you know for yourself. When it's a thing you know of yourself, do not speak it. Such viciousness will only bring harm to yourself." She needed to be educated, most certainly.

Ilena's eyes flicked momentarily wider, as if her ears had turned back, the forward again. "I'll attempt to remember it."

Obi accepted that answer for now, but he would punish her if she repeated it, until she learned it. "It would have been proper for you to have led Mistress to the answer, rather than forced her into a corner alone."

Ilena considered that. "It's true that I became impatient with her. However, haven't the rest of you already also tried to lead her to the answer? Wouldn't my efforts have been to no point?"

Obi thought about it, then shook his head. "We've all been waiting for her to come to the understanding on her own." Ilena sighed, her disappointment in the rest of them very evident. "But Ilena has a way of her own that leads others to come to an understanding and into their own strength." Obi had heard it and read it in the stories from the collected witnesses. He was well aware of her skill in the matter. "This kind of harshness is not necessary for you to achieve your goal. Mistress is worthy of your patience."

"And has she been handled so softly from the beginning?"

"Yes," Obi answered honestly.

"Haah. ...It's a very difficult task, then. And a very short amount of time, Obi." Ilena closed her eyes briefly. Looking at him again, she said, "I can't promise I will always be patient with her, but I will be more gentle."

"See to it," he answered, his eyes saying he would hold her to it, very firmly. "And, what shall we do to fix what you've done?"

Ilena thought only briefly. "Let her consider it. There will be great strength for her if she can answer it for herself. If she calls for you, or for Master Zen, then go to her. She'll know if you can help her or not. If she comes to me tomorrow and still doesn't have the answer, I'll lead her to it. Then we'll see if she'll continue on her chosen path or not."

Obi considered her answer. The only modification he would make is that he would go to Shirayuki by evening to see if she needed either him or Zen. She usually wouldn't go to them on her own for these things, even if she did need them. To Ilena, he only nodded. "I'll speak with you again tonight. I must return to Master." He turned on his heel and left her behind. He would have to have an answer for Master on the matter that would not send him flying to Mistress' side.

-o-o-o-

Zen looked up when Obi returned. "Well?" he completely stopped working and gave Obi his whole attention. Obi shivered. He stopped half-way up the room, in informal attention.

Zen narrowed his eyes. It wasn't good news. "Up here, Obi." he motioned and pointed to in front of his desk.

Obi twitched, then moved up obediently. This being partners was difficult. He felt a need to protect Ilena he wouldn't have felt before. He knew if he even breathed Shirayuki's name, Zen would find it difficult to listen. What he didn't know was that Kiki and Mitsuhide were watching him. Obi took a breath. "I've had to properly educate Ilena today."

"And has she understood her lesson?" Zen wasn't surprised by the comment. He'd been expecting it any time now.

"Yes, Master."

That was a good answer, but Obi was still too stiff. There was more he didn't want to say.

"And has she agreed to properly fix her error?"

"Yes, Master."

If Obi was still protecting her after that much, then there must be a thing he thought Zen himself would move to act on. Since they both followed Shirayuki, it must be her. Zen leaned back in his chair, thinking. Obi himself would have gone to Shirayuki directly if he believed she needed him. He would also tell Zen if she needed _him_. He already knew these things about Obi.

"Is it a matter I'll be angry about if I don't act on it now?"

Obi paused, thinking. "It would be best if Master would wait to be called."

So, Shirayuki needed time to think for herself. If he was needed she would call for him. He'd found it always better in those cases to let her do just that. She usually was completely incoherent otherwise, or became angry with him.

"You'll be confirming it yourself later?"

"Yes, Master."

"Very well. I'll wait to hear. You may return to your work."

Obi bowed and returned to his desk. He was very grateful his Master hadn't asked him to betray his partner. This was also a new thing for him. He wanted to crawl under his desk and shiver for a while. He chose to obediently lose himself in his work instead.

Mitsuhide and Kiki looked at Obi with pity, then smiled at each other. They knew this already about Zen: he was a good master for partners to follow as well.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki stood in the garden, her hand clenched in front of her heart. For the fourth time she had stopped in the middle of her work, completely unable to put any focus into it at all. She finally just sat down on the edge of a set of beds. She had worked so hard, even been away from Zen for more than two years at Lyrias. Had it all been a waste? Was what she had done so pointless towards reaching her goal? She took a deep breath. She had never been discouraged from doing what she thought she could do. Even King Izana had said he was helping her, by sending her to Lyrias, though she still wasn't quite sure what she'd done there that had moved her forward, other than to help all kinds of people there through the pharmacy so that many people knew who she was now. After that, she'd had to go to the lords of Wilant and convince them to let them grow the luminous plant _Olin Maris_. So if there had been one thing, it had been to learn how to communicate and negotiate with the lords of Wilant, and show her face to them, so they might know her also.

While that was a step in the right direction, it wasn't sufficient, most assuredly. What was the right direction? Towards Zen. But what was it she wanted there? Her heart felt afraid when she asked that question. It always had. She loved Zen and wanted to love him for the rest of her life. He'd said he wanted the same. Even still it was hard to believe it could happen. What would she need in order to be able to do that? Approval. That was certain. By whom? King Izana. But he'd already said it would be okay, if they could make it happen. By the Queen Mother. That was frightening, but not in the same way. It seemed like even if she didn't get total approval there, Zen still wouldn't change his mind away from her. The soldiers loved Zen and she got along well with them. The people of Wilant, Lyrias, perhaps all of Clarines. Was that why she'd been in Lyrias so long? It didn't seem hard to have their approval also. That left the lords. Her stomach clenched. She was very afraid of them, of not having their approval. She had no idea how to relate to them, or really what their expectations were. She only understood that she didn't meet those expectations, whatever they were. If the fear was a clue, it was telling her that she needed to learn how to interact with the lords. The _Olin Maris_ allowed her a beginning with them, but it would take more.

What else would it take to be by Zen? No, Ilena hadn't asked her to answer that question. She was supposed to answer the question, _What am I supposed to be?_ Shirayuki stood up and began a long pace up and down one of the aisles in the greenhouse. Why did that question scare her so much? Was the answer at the end of that fear? She wasn't supposed to be a Court Pharmacist...at least Ilena suggested she wasn't supposed to be content with being just a court pharmacist. _Just_ a court pharmacist. Ilena wouldn't be following after her if she was _just_ that. It was supposed to be something more. She felt the fear rise up again. Was it because she was afraid to be more? Or because she didn't believe she could be more? It seemed to be both.

If she was just afraid to be more, she wanted to overcome that fear. She knew it was possible. She had done it before. It was what her determination to be beside Zen was able to combat. If it was just a matter of _becoming_ , learning, acting, she could do that, if she had guidance. Instinctively she understood that Ilena had that guidance within her, was inviting her to reach out and access it. If Ilena could move her forward, she would move, no matter how afraid she was. That fear was not what was holding her back.

The other fear, then. Shirayuki's pace increased just a little, to match the tempo of her beating heart. She took a deep breath. She _must_ face this fear. She'd faced it before. Many years before. Izana himself had asked her: what will you be to Zen? She still hadn't answered him. She stopped and raised her head to the sky, as if to welcome rain drops upon it, her eyes closed. She willed her heart to still, breathing in calming breaths, the scent of the herbs in the greenhouse many and varied, all swirling around her. Zen had told her then, it was alright to think the thought. She could see now she still hadn't believed him, not from then to now. _Who may stand next to a Prince? What must I be to stand where I want to stand_. She knew the answer. She had always known it, and it scared her. She wanted to be just Shirayuki. Shirayuki who made her own way, who lived her life as she saw fit. That was what Zen wanted also. But she needed to be that _and_ another thing that to her was very far away. A thing she didn't believe she could attain, could not become. _How does a common girl, from another country, become a Princess, fit to stand by a Prince?_

Only a princess was fit to stand by a prince. She herself had no training in being a princess. She hadn't been born to it, born to the practice or the skill. All the noble ladies had been trained since birth, each one hoping to win out over the others for the right to stand next to a prince or other high noble. How could she ever hope to compete? Zen had reassured her several times that it didn't matter. She didn't need to compete. She already had his heart. Izana had indicated that if she worked hard enough, she, too, could compete, could win out against all the others born to it. There must be something innate that gave her an advantage. Even the prince of her homeland was proud to call her a friend, had worked hard to be able to be called such, and was even still working hard. His letters came regularly so that he could tell her so. So, was it possible for her to learn it? Learn how to be the kind of princess Zen needed to be able to stand by? If she could learn that, would the lords accept her? She felt it was so. The same as Zen had to prove to them that he was worthy of the title of Prince, and now, Regent.

Was Ilena offering to help her learn to become a princess, then? She was saying, _choose to be a Princess and I will help you become it. A minister can follow a prince, and a princess. But if you won't choose to become the princess the Prince needs, then admit defeat now and move out of the way of the other competitors. Let this country have its Princess._ Shirayuki trembled, her hand to her heart again. Could she do it? Did she want to carry the expectations of an entire country? _This_ is what she was most afraid of. Zen and Izana had been born to carry those expectations. Had grown up understanding it was a necessity, that they had a duty to live out. _She_ must choose it, if she truly wanted to stand beside Zen.

Shirayuki stopped thinking and just breathed again. She wanted to hear what her heart really wanted to say. What it really saw for her future. She pictured Zen up on the balcony with his mother, brother, and new sister-in-law, waving happily the day of King Izana's coronation. She had been so proud of him. Yet at the same time, she had yearned to be there next to him also. Had asked why that place couldn't be hers also. Not because she wanted the populace to adore her, but because she had wanted it to be her rightful place, there beside Zen. To show all the people that she was his support, and she supported him with her whole heart and being. Shirayuki paused on that thought and followed it to the depths of her heart.

What was she willing to _do_ to support Zen to the fullest? She felt it was 'anything'. In fact, she had proved that over and over. What was she willing to _be_ to support Zen to the fullest? She all of a sudden could picture herself standing next to him on the balcony. He relied in her so much already. He had said he wanted to rely on her for his life, but he wouldn't be able to continue to do so the same way if he had to pick someone else as his Princess. He would have to turn to that person that way, only coming to Shirayuki for advice or peaceful conversation occasionally. Shirayuki found that unbearable. If she wanted him to turn to her and fully rely on her in all things, she must become a princess. His princess.

She wasn't qualified. She didn't feel ready. She wanted to run and hide somewhere very far away. But she wanted to be Zen's Princess so badly she stayed rooted to the ground. Zen said it was okay. Izana said it was possible. Ilena was offering to teach her how to make it so. The way was finally open to her. Could she step forward onto it? Would she? That is what Ilena was asking her. It was what she was asking herself.

She thought again about what she and Ilena had been discussing the days before and early this morning. She had told Ilena that she needed to have the opportunity to communicate with Zen whenever she needed. She felt that with every fiber of her being. She needed to be able to approach Zen freely. If she was a princess, she could do that. Even more if she was _his_ princess. Ilena agreed with her, and had been trying to help her do that without having the title yet. But for Ilena it was with the expectation that Shirayuki would one day have that title. This was just a beginning. She herself was ready to be that princess. Was impatient to be it.

This realization surprised her. She was impatient to be recognized as the right person to be standing by Zen. She was impatient with Zen. She was impatient with the lords. And, she was angry with herself that she hadn't achieved it yet. She was angry at herself for being afraid to be what she needed to be. The same anger she would have held against Zen if he had acted against his role as prince. Shirayuki stopped, her mouth open in surprise. Then, she turned and ran.

-o-o-o-

The door to Ilena's room burst open. Lunch had just been brought, and Ilena had been thinking sadly it was likely to go cold and uneaten, though she could have just asked the guards to ask for the nurse to come and help. She looked towards the door as best she could, but it didn't matter. As soon as it was shut, Shirayuki was at her side, her face bright, her eyes lit with knowledge.

 _Hahh. I was right. She was ready to face it._ Ilena kept her face neutral. First she needed to let Shirayuki tell it to her.

"A princess. I have to be a princess to stand next to Zen, because he's a Prince. I want to be a princess - Zen's Princess. Can you do it? Can you teach me?"

"Very good, Princess Shirayuki. You've answered the question." Shirayuki held herself from reacting to the new title. "You ask if I can teach you. It's more important to know if you believe I can."

Shirayuki held herself tightly straight. "Yes. I believe you can. I believe you're the only person I know who can do it." She looked directly into Ilena's eyes. "I want you to do it. Will you?"

Now Ilena smiled. "Yes, Princess Shirayuki. If you ask it of me, I will teach you. ...But what I said about it being nearly too late was a truth. It will be very hard. I can't go easy on you. Within a year, the lords will make Prince Zen choose a bride. You must be on the list of acceptable brides within six or seven months. That isn't much time."

Shirayuki nodded. "I'll do it. I can work very hard, and I will. I've been impatient and angry that I'm not already there. I realized that this time."

"Very good," Ilena praised her with a smile again. "Then you should act today, even right now. See. The lunch meal has just been served."

Shirayuki looked at the cart. The lunch cart would have, or would soon be, delivered to Zen's office. Her heart clenched in fear. Her new-found determination fought against it and silenced it. She looked at Ilena. "What about your lunch?"

"Call for Anna."

Shirayuki nodded.

"Would you hear my one advice before you go?" Ilena asked. Shirayuki paused, then nodded. She wanted to hear anything Ilena could teach her. "If you've determined this is your path, and you won't be swayed from it, you must do everything you do from now on as if you are _already_ Zen's Princess. Carry yourself, look at others, act in the presence of all others as such. When you do this, they can't deter you. You'll need to decide, with Prince Zen's help, what the specifics of being Zen's Princess are, but you're already capable of acting it, thinking it, and being it. You must practice it every moment of your life from now on. Even in the moments you doubt yourself. No especially then, because it's yourself you must convince in those moments. Accept your own errors graciously, as a princess would, learn from them, and move on. If you don't doubt your path any longer, don't doubt what you'll become, what you must be from this moment on. And always remember that when you need to lean on someone else, you may come to me, to Obi, to Zen, to Mister Mitsuhide, and to Miss Kiki. Always we have supported you in the position you've told me today you're ready to step into."

Shirayuki teared up. They had all known, had been waiting for her. They all supported her in this position, already. She couldn't help it. She leaned over and grasped Ilena in a hug.

Ilena held her close, both comforting her and strengthening her. Softly she said to the young woman with the red hair, "I love you, Shirayuki. You make a very fine Princess. I'm very proud of you for facing your fears today, and becoming so much more strong. I will always be here for you."

After a moment more, Shirayuki was able to calm herself, and she stood back up. "Thank you, Ilena. I'm glad that I was able to meet you."

"I'm grateful you were willing to come back and save my life. I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll do." Ilena smiled.

Shirayuki smiled back. "First, I'm going to call for Anna for you. Then I'm going to visit Zen."

"Very well, Princess. I do wish I could be there to see it."

"I'll tell you about it when I return." They grinned at each other, co-conspirators.

-o-o-o-

Zen and his aides were working through lunch again. It was just the daily pattern. If it got more work done, then that was for the better, right? There was a knock at the door and one of the guards announced, "Miss Shirayuki to see the Regent."

They were all still sitting still in shock when Shirayuki entered the room. Her eyes swept the room. "Close your mouths," she said, but her eyes sparkled. Obi was having troubles being obedient to that order.

Zen put his pen down and stood. "Shirayuki. What may I do for you?"

"You may eat lunch with me, Regent." She began taking food plates off the lunch cart and putting them at a clear place on the table. Zen blinked. "I've heard that you aren't properly taking care of your health, working through both lunches and dinners. I've come to see that you're at least correcting that at lunch. You may expect me to be present at every lunch from here on, unless you have urgent business elsewhere."

Zen looked at Obi. "What did Ilena do to Shirayuki?" he asked accusingly.

Obi wasn't sure he should answer or not. He looked at Shirayuki. Would he make her mad if he did?

Shirayuki looked up at him. "Your Master has asked you a question, Obi. Answer him."

Obi blinked. He looked at Zen. Words were having a hard time coming out. "Ah, eh, well, she told me she said that Mistress wasn't here to be a court pharmacist. Mistress then asked her what she was here to be, then. Ilena said she told her," he blushed, "that if she couldn't answer that question for herself by tomorrow morning she was already too late. It was for saying that that I took her to task. She knows how to teach people with much more gentleness and grace, as you yourself know."

Zen nodded. He did, after reading all those stories about Mother. Mitsuhide and Kiki were smiling now. They couldn't contain themselves. Ilena was certainly an interesting person to have invited to the castle. In the matter of Shirayuki they approved, so far.

"The table is set, Zen. Please come sit." Shirayuki sat in her seat, sitting upright, and waited for him to join her. "I'll explain it as we eat. Your time is valuable, after all, and I have much to do." She looked at the rest, still sitting at their desks. "The rest of you should also pause in your work and eat as well, so that your minds may be rested and your bodies not overtaxed."

"Yes, Mistress," Obi answered, and the three of them got up from their chairs to make plates for themselves, though they chose to sit at a different table to allow the two some semblance of privacy.

At that time, Tairn walked in from having run an errand. He paused when he noticed the different arrangement of persons in the room. "Ah…, am I interrupting?"

"No, Tairn," Kiki said to him. "We were just beginning lunch. Please get yourself a plate and join me. Shirayuki, this is Tairn, my assistant. Tairn, this is Shirayuki."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Shirayuki," Tairn bowed.

"Likewise, Tairn," Shirayuki answered. "I'm sure both Zen and Kiki are relieved to have your assistance in the office." Tairn nodded his head in acceptance of the comment, quickly filled his plate, and joined the other aides.

It did make Shirayuki a little more nervous to have someone she didnt know in the room, but she bolstered herself with remembering Ilena's advice and the knowledge that what she needed to discuss with Zen was too important to back off from.

"What Obi told you is true. Ilena was very firm with me and made me face my own fears with my own hands, but she wasn't wrong to ask it of me today. I was ready of my own to do it. I merely needed the push to overcome my reluctance to face those fears."

Zen smiled a small proud smile.

Shirayuki continued. "Already I'd decided that I was going to come talk to you today." She looked up at him with determination. "If we're going to be in the place we wish to be in, then we must be able to communicate regularly, without fear, so that we may know each other's minds. I asked Obi what your daily schedule was. Ilena was able to help me see that if I should come to eat lunch with you daily, it would both improve your health, and the health of our relationship." She managed to not blush very much at all, though she had to fish quickly for the next thing to say. "It's also a good time for my schedule, which from this point on will, in the main, be taken up with lessons from Ilena. I intend to continue to help with the pharmacy as I can, but it will likely be as a rest from my other labor." She paused to eat.

"And, what is your other labor?" Zen asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"To learn what is necessary to become Zen's Princess. Ilena says I have six, at most seven, months in which to learn what all the other eligible young ladies have already had a lifetime to learn. I expect to be quite busy."

The listening aides were silent in shock. Even though they'd expected to hear something like this, it was still surprising to hear it come from Shirayuki's lips.

 _Pffft!_ Zen couldn't help it. He had to laugh. "Ah, sorry, but it's so like you. To face such a task head on. I would think that time schedule is ambitious, but if anyone can pull it off, the two of you can."

"We'll have to do the best we can. Already I feel impatient to have been doing it."

"But, you have been, Shirayuki. You already have the natural qualities required, more so than most. You merely lack the court training, and in that you've been increasing steadily. I would think it won't be too difficult for you to meet your schedule. However, Ilena likely has specific goals in mind that I haven't considered."

"Please consider them," Shirayuki said firmly, and Zen looked at her in surprise. "There's no point to learning a thing Zen doesn't need me to learn. Nor is it acceptable for me to be lacking in a thing Zen needs."

Zen sat back and looked at her with appraising eyes. Shirayuki had indeed finally understood what she wanted and what she needed to do to get there. "I'll consider it seriously, then," he promised.

Shirayuki nodded. "Is there anything I can do now that would be helpful?"

Zen considered it. He glanced over at the aides. Did they have any suggestions? Obi opened his mouth and Kiki kicked him under the table. He looked at her, affronted, but didn't try again. "I think you've already done it, Shirayuki." He paused a moment to eat, then asked, "Are you sure you wish to come _every_ day for lunch?"

Shirayuki looked like she'd expected the question. "From the first day I came to Clarines, I've wondered what it is that Zen does here. I've seen many things, but I still haven't seen what it is Zen does here, in this office, in this palace. I would like to come to understand these things. Then I may be able to understand better how I may support you. All of the things I've seen you do are infrequent, and not very much of what is in the palace. How can I truly know how to support you, if I don't know what it is you spend the most of your time on? What are the questions in your heart? These are the things I wish to begin to learn when I come for the lunch hour." She looked up at him. "If I can't understand the things that Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi understand, how can I stand in front of them, at the side of Zen?"

Zen almost opened his mouth to say it wasn't necessary, when he felt like he'd received a kick like Obi had. If he said that to her, he would be devaluing her determination, telling her he didn't really need her to stand by his side - that he was content to keep her at a distance. Was that what he really believed? Was he really not as willing to be as committed to their shared goal as he thought he was? He ate silently while he pondered. He kept wanting to protect her. Ilena and Shirayuki both had already called him to task for that ill placed desire. He wanted to protect what was precious to him, but that didn't mean he should break the strength of her to do so. Rather, he should wish to help her increase her strength, that by that strength itself she could be protected. He could choose what she heard each lunch, of course, and thereby build up her strength little by little. If there was a thing she shouldn't know, she didn't need to be told it, but otherwise, it wouldn't hurt her to understand.

"I understand," he answered her. Then he smiled, "Though I thought you said that you didn't want us to work through lunch."

She smiled back. "Well, if it becomes too much of a problem, I'll come before or stay after lunch. Then I may be able to both learn what you do in this place, and we may be able to have a more healthy day."

"Then Obi will definitely request that you be his assistant," Zen commented dryly.

"If that's where I can best support Zen from, then I'll do it," Shirayuki said seriously. "But first, I must meet my goal."

Obi smiled a big grin. He was going to remember her comment, and if ever there was a possibility, he was going to hold her to it. He was feeling awfully proud of his partner right then, but he was also wondering how much trouble he was going to get into when Shirayuki returned to Ilena.


	18. The Agreement Between Partners

_So...bet ya'll thought I'd forgotten about Tairn at all. Well, here he is again, now that we've actually seen him enter the office, though he had several days before this, of course._

 _Then we get to see Shirayuki again, and the foursome together mixing it up, then a scolding followed by a fun interlude (the bath! "yeay!" says Ilena). This is the last light chapter for a while. Enjoy._

 _Thank you so much for my regular 15 or so readers who so faithfully come back every day for my updates. You make it worth posting. And thank you for the two newest reviews - even my first 'guest' reviewer (thank you, whoever you are)._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 18 The Agreement Between Partners**

Everyone headed back to their desks after Shirayuki left. Obi kept feeling an itch between his shoulders, but Zen didn't say anything.

"Umm," Tairn raised his hand, getting everyone's attention.

Zen looked at him, "Yes, Tairn?"

"Ah, given what I overheard, I think I need to tell you a little more about myself."

"Okaa-y." Zen, still standing, leaned against the front of his desk and folded his arms.

"I admit that I've been wondering why you asked me to be on your staff. Because you called for me using my father's name, I thought it must be because of him for some reason. But today, having heard Miss Ilena's name, I wonder if it's because of her or my brother."

Zen nodded. "I can see where that would be somewhat of a mystery. Obi, would you please explain?"

Obi nodded. "It's because of both your brother and your father. I visited at your home a bit ago, and made some grave errors. Your brother corrected my misunderstanding, and both he and your father were very gracious and forgave me for my lack of knowledge. I believe Master asked you to assist in the office based on their example?" Obi turned and looked at Zen to see if he was correct.

Zen nodded. "Yes. While it doesn't always bear out that every child of a house has the qualities of the parents, it's usually a good indicator. Therefore, I decided we'd see if you were also of the same cloth. Your training being in the Department of Interior was helpful as well. I intend to also bring your brother in, when he becomes available. It takes two to replace Kiki when she must return home."

"Ah. Well...that." The others looked at him, curious as to what he had to say. "Well, what I mean to say, is, isn't that a conflict of interests?"

"What do you mean?" Zen asked conversationally, but the aides had gone on alert.

"Well, he is one of Miss Ilena's agents, and...well...I'm one of King Izana's, as was my father."

Everyone was quiet while Zen pondered that news. "Well, no, I don't think it's a conflict of interest at all, but have I interrupted something important you were doing for my brother?"

"Ah, well, I'm wrapping it up. He was...amused by my sudden change in position."

Zen sighed. "So he said, 'stay and see what happens'?"

"Yes, something like that." Tairn said apologetically.

"Is there a problem with your brother coming?" Kiki wanted to know, particularly has he was the one Zen would be relying on the most.

"Well...aren't Miss Ilena's loyalties in question?"

Zen cocked his head. "Who do you believe Miss Ilena is loyal to, Tairn?"

The man paused, then answered slowly, "I used to believe, early on, that she was loyal to Earl College. But then, when my brother became her man, I confronted him about it. He told me that it wasn't so, but that she had her own purposes. So I could only assume she was loyal only to herself, though…," he looked sideways at Obi, "I admit that the only other person she could have had any loyalties to sits in your own office."

Everyone had grins of various sizes at that, though Obi's was perhaps more of a grimace. "Obi himself has only just been introduced to Ilena recently," Zen told Tairn. "But it's true that she is fiercely loyal to him. They are partners as of recently, the same as Mitsuhide and Kiki. They stand at the back of Shirayuki for me." Tairn's eyes were wide, and his face still showed a measure of confusion. "Ilena is my Director of Intelligence, Tairn," Zen told him plainly. "I see no conflict of interest. If there's a thing you think my brother should know, I would hope I would tell him first, but if not, then it's good if you do. If there's a thing your brother feels Ilena needs to know from this office that she doesn't already know, I would hope he would tell her. And if there's a thing either of you feels I need to know, I need you to tell it to me without reservation." Zen looked to see if Tairn understood.

"Ah, I see," Tairn was rearranging the order of things in his mind. "But surely she wasn't before?"

"Yes, she's always been. I just wasn't in a position to be able to have her with me until now. Besides, what she was doing in the place she was in was too important to move her from. Earl College has of his own will cast her off, so it's time to bring her back to her rightful place." Obi was having a hard time. Zen wasn't lying, but he was certainly stretching the truth to suit his purposes. It almost made Obi's head hurt to not laugh. He had to take himself to his desk and hide behind his work. Mitsuhide was having a harder time. He could never lie, and his face was an open book. Kiki took Mitsuhide by the arm, turned him away from Tairn and quietly pretended to ask him an important question.

"Ah, is that why the focus of the office has been on his past activities?"

"Yes," Zen nodded. "Ilena brought with her quite a bit of evidence against him. Ah, by the way, it's confidential information that she's here in the castle. Until Earl College is convicted and judgement passed, we believe her life will remain in danger. You'll keep that knowledge to yourself until then, yes?"

Tairn nodded, "Certainly, Pr-Zen." He was still trying to get used to not using the honorific in the office. "And...should I also keep it confidential that Miss Shirayuki is, with your approval, now actively seeking your hand?" Tairn was looking questioningly, but Zen could see in his eyes that he was also calculating.

Zen smiled. "Everyone in this room, and also my brother, have known for some time that she will someday stand by my side. We've all been working towards that goal. While I think I would like for the castle to learn of it as she moves to show them, it's never been secret."

"Very well," Tairn bowed. Kiki walked up to him and asked him about the errand he'd run before lunch. Then she found an excuse to make him run another.

When he was gone, and likely a sufficient number of paces away, Obi had to let it out. It was a bit before he recovered. "Ah, hahaha," he wiped his eyes. "Thank you Miss Kiki. I was about to die. Hehe. Haaah... Master, I'm not sure the truth is meant to be stretched quite that far. Even King Brother will see through it."

"Maybe," Zen shrugged as he sat down to his desk again. "But Tairn's who I wanted to convince, though my brother will understand well enough what I mean by it. ...And it's technically true."

"It is interesting that he's one of Izana's men. Do you think Miss Ilena picked his brother to be one of her's on purpose?" Mitsuhide asked.

Zen looked thoughtful. "When there are good men available, isn't it good to put them to the best purposes? She's already said that her network overlaps Izana's. I wouldn't be surprised if it's often in this fashion. She isn't the kind to make too many double agents, I would guess, but she will use the agents of others if it suits her, it seems to me. ...Mitsuhide how much time do we have until the first meeting?"

"Ah...forty minutes."

"Then let's get work done until then, shall we?" Zen's order was mild. Everyone got back to work.

 _When was it Master was the one to tell us to get back to work?_ Obi wondered. _It was always Mister who encouraged Master before..._.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki was very excited and full of energy when she arrived back at Ilena's room. Ilena's staff had arrived just before her and were eating their lunch. They moved to the back corner to allow space for Shirayuki and Ilena to converse.

"It went very well, I think," Shirayuki said, her eyes shining. "I'll go back each day for lunch. Zen said he'll seriously consider what he would like to see me learn. I told him that I would like to learn what he does here in the castle and in his office, so that I may know how to help him best. Though he said if I wish to know that, we would have to work through lunch, so I suggested I could arrive an hour before or stay an hour after if it's needed to learn those things. Apparently Obi could use an assistant. Maybe I could help him while I learn? Ah, and I met Zen's new assistant, Tairn. He's helping Kiki."

Ilena's eyes snapped up. "Tairn? Would that be Tairn Malkin of Salisbury?"

"Mmm...I don't know. He looks to be about Mitsuhide's age. He's tall, of good build, brown wavy hair, bright intelligent eyes."

"Hmm...I see." Ilena said noncommittally. "Well, if it is he, please tell him I say 'hello' and that I've asked him to take good care of you. I know his younger brother well."

"Okay," Shirayuki said happily. "What is it that I can do for the remainder of today to meet my goal?"

"First, sit down." Shirayuki did. "What have you decided you want to do?"

Shirayuki pulled her chair up close by the side of Ilena's bed and sat down. "I want you to teach me everything you think I need to know in order for the lords to accept me. And I want to learn what I need in order to represent Zen appropriately. And if I can help Zen do things, even the office work, I want to learn what I'll need to know to be effective there."

"Why do you want to learn the office work?"

"I told Zen that if I can't stand before Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi, how can I stand next to him?"

"Ah, I see. Well, it may be good to understand the workings of the Royal office, even if you decide in the end there's a better place for you. However, you shouldn't consider yourself equivalent to an aide to the Prince. You should choose to do it for a different reason. Can you give me a better reason?"

Shirayuki thought hard for a while. "Zen's father died, leaving his mother to be the ruler of the kingdom. I don't know if she was just overwhelmed with grief, or didn't have prior experience, but King Izana had to take over quite a lot of the leadership of the kingdom at a very young age. I would like to be able to support Zen in letting him not worry that a similar thing would happen for him - that either his son would have to wear his mantle at a young age, or that I wasn't capable of standing in his place if it was necessary. Also, if I understand how Zen's office is run, I'll understand better how to run my own office. And, I think there are things I can learn there that I can't learn elsewhere."

"Those are much better reasons. Remember, there is no need for the Princess to duplicate the efforts of the Prince. Rather, her efforts should complement his. It may be that you take some of his burden, indeed it would be good if you did, but it should be a thing only you can do. That thing is a thing you have yet to discover."

Ilena continued, "I'll consider your daily schedule and set you to it before I undergo the surgery. For now, there are basic things about _this_ castle that you and I both need to understand. Therefore, you will help me with my studies today and tomorrow at least. When we're done for today, your task will be to write a detailed list of what you'd expect to see in a princess that you would be willing to follow. Tomorrow you'll ask Master Zen at lunch to do the same - write a detailed list of what he desires from the princess who will stand at his side. Bring me both lists and we'll more easily be able to come up with a plan."

"Okay, Ilena," Shirayuki said.

"Good. Then for now, Leah and Rio have brought me the books I requested. We'll start with the most general and work our way to the more specific. You'll read them to me and we'll discuss them as we go. When your home is the castle, you must be able to comprehend all levels and members of it, their roles and responsibilities, how they interact, and how your own role fits within them. Thus we'll begin there, or we won't know how to act. Please select the appropriate book."

Shirayuki looked through the books that the maids had brought and selected one, then began reading. In the end, most of the ladies took turns reading aloud. One voice could only read for so long. They ended shortly before the dinner was to arrive, Ilena closing the book before she began, adamant that even they should reserve meals for refreshing their minds and bodies. Shirayuki taught Leah and Rio what to do to take care of Ilena at the evening time, and by the time the dinner was to arrive, they were readied for it, though Ilena thought it was coming a bit late, and wondered why Ryuu hadn't come yet. There was finally a knock at the door, and the dinner cart was wheeled in - by Obi, followed by Zen.

"Oh. That's what it was," Ilena commented and it was Shirayuki's turn to be surprised by who walked into the room.

"Well, turnabout is fair play, isn't it?" Zen commented lightly. "Since Shirayuki joined us for lunch, I thought it was appropriate for us to join you for dinner, particularly since I knew Shirayuki would likely be with you for the remainder of the day. I wanted to make sure you got an appropriate dinner meal."

Shirayuki smiled. "If it means you're getting one, too, then that is all for the better."

Leah and Rio had already begun to make plates for each of them. Ilena introduced them to Zen, who briefly welcomed them and thanked them for coming to help with Ilena.

"We've just come from the pharmacy and speaking with Ryuu," Zen opened the dinner conversation. "He's quite sure he wants you to help him during the surgery. Is that okay?"

Shirayuki nodded. "I've helped to make the poultice we're going to use before. Also, I'm looking forward to getting the perspective of medicine from the point of view of a surgeon. I assisted the field doctor, Doctor Bonner, with his second surgery. It was interesting how he tried to help the tendon to regrow. Even then it didn't look like it would work, but he reminded me that all research begins with trying whatever idea you can come up with. I look forward to seeing what Doctor Elliot has come up with."

Obi and Zen exchanged looks. Obi's said, _I told you so_ , and Zen gave up. "Well, I do hope his method works. It would be good if Ilena walks again."

"I agree," Ilena said emphatically. "And I hope he can do it in one go, or an early second like last time. ...Ah, speaking of which, I wanted to ask you, Master Zen and Princess Shirayuki, for permission to use the Little Death again. I believe that the hibernative state at the beginning is the best one to be in during a surgery, and the reduction of pain is also beneficial. Doctor Elliot knows the proper dose to give me, in particular, to grant me both of those benefits while providing the least possible effect of the pain cycle in between."

While Zen looked like he was against that idea, Shirayuki looked thoughtful. "It was a benefit to Doctor Bonner during his surgery. While I dislike the thought of having you on such a thing and having to wean you off of it, it would be a good opportunity for Ryuu to have some training in that process. I know he's expressed a keen interest in learning it. The only concern is the decrease of body temperature that interferes with its natural ability to fight off infection." Obi and Zen nodded. "Perhaps I could talk with Doctor Elliot about what his recommendation would be."

"That would be good," Zen said. "If he believes he can use it to good effect with minimal negative side effects, and if you're satisfied, Shirayuki, then I'll accept your recommendation."

"You may find him in the third laboratory in the surgery department of this wing," Obi informed Shirayuki.

She nodded. "I'll speak with him tomorrow, then."

There was the usual end-of-topic-pause that occurs in all group conversations. Then Zen took up the next topic again. "Ilena, when Obi returned to my office just before lunch, I certainly didn't expect Shirayuki to be coming to me in such a fashion. I would like you to understand that, although the results were of benefit today, the lesson he taught you should still be remembered and followed." He looked at her, his face bland but his eyes speaking volumes.

"Yes, Master Zen." She answered in imitation of Obi earlier that day.

When he was satisfied with her answer, he continued. "What is it I may do to help Shirayuki in her goal?"

Both women were a bit taken aback by the question, not expecting it. Shirayuki answered, "You said that you would consider what it is you would like for me to learn. Could you please give it to me in writing, so that we can be sure to include each item in our planning?"

Zen paused, a bit surprised. "In writing?"

Shirayuki nodded. "And if there are any particularly important items, if you'll mark them, we'll be sure to address them early."

Zen nodded slowly. While it wasn't a typical request, it was an indication of how serious Shirayuki was about her goal.

"Master Zen," Ilena suggested, "If you find at some point in your consideration that it's difficult, perhaps, rather than thinking of Princess Shirayuki specifically, you could think of what you would look for in any of the ladies that are on the candidate list at this time. Perhaps if you thought of how you would narrow those candidates down, your thoughts would flow more freely."

"I'll consider it," Zen answered her, glad for the advice.

"Ilena, is there anything else you would suggest Zen could do to help?" Shirayuki asked.

"Will you hear it, Master Zen?" Ilena asked him. Zen nodded. "Until we've completed the detailed plan, I can only tell you things in general. The most important thing you can do for Princess Shirayuki is to provide for her a place to stand. If you don't hold out your hand to her and make a place for her by your side, she'll never be able to join you there, for others will always wish to stand or place there others of their own choosing. Choose for yourself today and let all others know you've made that choice in your visible actions. It doesn't matter that they don't see her yet as a princess. Those who watch you need to learn it and become familiar with it, even before she has reached her full capacity, even as you grew into your position."

"When you are content that she is your Princess in all ways that you could wish, then is when you will make all the others to say 'yes', in one voice, by announcing to all the world that you will make her your bride, even though they've already known it. Until then, always remember it's your responsibility to hold that place open for her. To welcome her into it whenever she chooses to enter it, in whatever capacity she has reached. Your list will let you know of her progress and when she has reached the goal to which she intends to reach. Princess Shirayuki will also be writing a list of what to her is a princess. Together, we shall make Princess Shirayuki into the princess who Zen cannot turn away from, the one who the people and lords of Clarines cannot deny, and the one the house of Wisteria will welcome."

"Mmm…," Zen mulled. "It has been my way to this point to wait and see what the lords will accept before forcing the issue. Yet you say I should say forcefully what it is I want?"

"Yes, Master Zen. You are no longer a Prince in training. You are the Regent, second only to the King. It is my understanding you already have the approval of the King. That is sufficient for you to act upon your own decisions." Zen was silent.

Obi ventured a comment. "Master, isn't that what you've been doing with the matter of Ilena? Even today?"

Zen looked at him surprised, and considered the parallel. "That's true," he said slowly. "I'll think on how I may best be able to do it." Ilena and Shirayuki were satisfied with that. "Ilena, I have another question," Zen said. Ilena looked at him attentively. "Obi's told me you said that 'no good thing remains' in Earl College's household. Will you please explain this to me?"

"It's true, Master Zen. I've been slowly removing the good members of Earl College's household from his grasp into places where they can be freed from daily fear. Before the Lady and I were sent to Osterly, I'd already removed the last of them. I've remained in contact with them all to ensure that they are truly happy where they are, and I love them and desire for their happiness."

"How was the household run? And if you've done it over time, how is it that the yearly census and allotment to the Earl didn't change?" He'd already had the research done on the running of the household as part of his investigation and it had been impeccable, a testament to her capacities to run the Earldom for her master, but her comment to Obi had opened another set of questions.

"It was usually the yearly census that was the cause of the need in the Earl's eyes, though I, of course, didn't mind it. In order for the Earl to do the evil deeds in his mind, he needed an ever increasing number of evil men who were willing to follow him. But evil men only heed the call of wealth. Therefore, each year, he would have me put away as many of the household as he'd taken in to increase his might. He was always careful to be slow to build up his strength so it wouldn't be remarked, and I was as careful to choose those who's station we could afford to lose, or those who I could nearly no longer repair. Of course, at some point the balance shifted, and the armsmen were required to step in and fill the required roles. They are leashed to their stations sufficiently by the mighty anger of their master. At this time, there is none in his house who aren't prepared for the wages of their evils. The Lady and her ladies-in-waiting were all that remained, but they were not of my household. ...If we had all managed to return safely to the Earl's home that day, my intent was to return them to the Lady's father's home as quickly as the Earl came to hate her again."

Zen was amazed. "And did you propose this plan to the Earl?"

Ilena paused before answering. "The Earl placed in my keeping the household and the running of it, including the financing. It was either to suggest this plan, or to make the household go hungry. To have denied the armsmen would have increased the suffering of the household. I couldn't bear it." She and her two ladies were silent as they remembered the weight of those years, and those decisions.

Zen leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, his meal completed. "When you were the last one remaining, what would you have done?"

Ilena looked him in the eye, her face still full of the pain of that time. "I would have made a pact with the devil I had no intention of allowing him to follow through on, and made my way of my own free will to this place where I stand now, though it would have been anyone's guess if I would have made it this far before staring death in the face and finally being unable to flee any more."

Obi sat upright in shock. "You would have told him you would give me to him?"

Ilena looked at him, her face a mask. "Yes."

Zen was still. Shirayuki asked in confusion, "But...I don't understand. What does the Earl want with Obi?"

Obi said coldly, "Nothing would please him more than to see my blood upon his floor, my life taken with his own hand."

"Why?" No one answered her question. "But...but...Ilena said, didn't you say, Ilena, that you wouldn't have followed through on it?"

Ilena's gaze moved from Obi to Shirayuki and became compassionate. "I did say that Princess Shirayuki. I knew the only hope I would have is if I could somehow get word to Prince Zen that I was willing to sell my information in exchange for safety from the Earl for myself and Obi, and hope that he would be willing to accept my word."

Obi's breath hissed. "You were willing to walk out of that house and into the whirlwind of blades of death, knowing that Master didn't know you?"

Ilena looked back at him. "I was willing to dance with those blades joyfully as I ran from that house, knowing that if I was skillful just enough then I would reach the one I love at the other side. And while it is true I didn't know if I could enter the door on this end, I didn't leave unprepared, but as prepared as if I had built myself an army."

Zen understood first - "The household," he said.

Ilena nodded, looking at him. "I love my Children and have no desire to see them harmed, but because they love me, they would have protected me regardless. Indeed, they'd urged me many times to leave that place earlier, and I couldn't for fear of their safety. At the end I would have, in the hope that mayhap Prince Zen would see to setting right the wrongs of the house of College. If not, I would have continued to travel south to see if the King would hear my petition. ...For I carry upon my back the desires of the whole household, and all those wronged by the actions of Earl College."

Zen replied, "It's sufficient. I'm glad you didn't have to follow through, but that Earl College cast you off himself. Though you have not come without damage, I am glad you've come. ...Though I hope you understand that if you'd been required to follow that path, I would have been willing to hear your petition."

Shirayuki nodded, remembering that he had, from the beginning of the process that had brought the messenger birds to the mainland, been open to the petition of the islanders, even though it had been a lord that they fought against.

"Thank you, Master Zen." Ilena said soberly.

-o-o-o-

Obi opened the door to Ilena's room, entered, then stood with his back to the door, unmoving. He and Zen had walked Shirayuki back to her room, then he and Zen had gone back to the office. He would have gone directly back to Ilena's room, but she was visiting with Grandfather. Instead, he'd lost himself in his work, but he knew his performance had suffered - he hadn't been able to concentrate. In the end, he'd arrived early, though it was after everyone else had left her for the night as the room was dark.

"Are you angry with me, Obi?" Ilena asked quietly.

"...Yes." So angry he almost couldn't speak to her. So angry he wanted to shout, wanted to flee so he didn't do something he would regret. It felt like the anger that had driven him away from Osterly and to Zen's side. But this time, it had drawn him to her.

"Obi..., what are you afraid of?" she asked gently.

"Of losing you." The words were out of his mouth before he knew what they were. He was shocked by them. Had he really just said them? But more words were tumbling out now. "You're my partner now. You must never consider acting in a way that would endanger your existence. You must promise me that you'll come to me if you can't see a clear path so that together we may find an acceptable solution. And, even if you do see a way, you must come to me. You are no longer an agent unto yourself."

It could probably not be said who was more astonished at his words.

"... I promise, Obi." Ilena said when she could finally find her voice. "And...will you promise me the same?"

Obi's astonishment remained. Even when he'd given his reigns to Master, for over a year he hadn't been able to tie himself down and commit to stay. He'd always believed he would be an 'agent unto himself' until that time. Now, within a few short weeks of being yoked to her, he felt and knew that she was right to ask it, and it was right for him to promise it. "Yes, Ilena, I promise you the same." His voice was calmer as he said it.

"Will you light the candle, Obi?" Ilena asked simply.

He walked to the desk, felt for the candle, then lit it. The small flame leapt up, giving their practiced night eyes plenty of light to see by. He took a breath, then turned to look at Ilena. She was looking at him, as he expected. He turned towards her and crossed his arms, but he didn't look at her angrily. Rather he was sober.

"You're no longer angry." She made it a statement. He nodded once anyway. "That's good. What else have you to say to me? I'll listen."

He stepped closer to her bed so she didn't have to turn her head quite so far to see him, their eyes remaining locked together. "If I'd understood before what I understand now, I would have come for you long ago. If anything happens to you in the future, I will come for you. ...There's a thing Master and Mistress told me - be more aware of yourself. When you're not where people expect you to be, you will be missed. I wish you to understand this thing now, while you're still in a place where you can't move."

"I'll remember it," Ilena answered him. She paused, her mouth open to speak, but as if not sure. Obi nodded permission. "This is the same...why I wait for you to come each night. I can't come find you, but until you're here, where I can know where you are, I can't rest. And it's what makes me want to say to you that I shall be very angry with you if you don't return to me. ...I think it was what was bothering me the last night and morning before you left to collect the first set of witnesses."

Obi nodded. "On more than one occasion I thought, 'Ilena wanted to come with me.' ...And I wished you were there, also." He eyes went a little soft.

"Haaah... Yes, it was so. It _is_ so. Perhaps that's my greatest impatience with my infirmity, that I can't be where Obi is, go where Obi goes. I am most looking forward to being able to resolve it."

Obi tilted his head. "You're saying you're willing to go through the experimental surgery for the sake of our partnership?"

"Yes. That's what gives me the strength to face it."

Obi sat down on the side of her bed, one leg tucked under the other so that he could face her. Her eyes followed his face. Obi took a moment to find the words he wanted to say. "If I can give you the strength to do what needs to be done so that you may stand and walk with me, then I'm glad."

Ilena's eyes crinkled. "It is my goal, Obi, to be able to _run_ with you. Walking is not enough for me. I want to be able to run the roofs with you, to leap through the trees again."

He smiled back. "I'd felt that you would love to do that. I was thinking it on a roof, as a matter of fact."

Ilena sighed. "I spent my nights, when I was here alone, on that roof with you."

Obi frowned slightly. "I wouldn't think you have the experience to do it, but there were little clues in every story I heard that trip, most obviously in Robert's story. It seems that among all the other things you were doing, you were a nightrunner." She neither confirmed nor denied it. "When we first found you, right after Doctor Bonner finished patching you up the first time, I walked in on the Captain talking to him and Lieutenant Leeds." He looked down at his hands, then back up at her.

"It was the first time I heard your name and what you'd been doing. The Captain had only good things to say about you, and evil things about Marcovik. He told of things you could do that were skills of the underworld. I thought to myself then that you must have been walking between the worlds, living a life in the twilight." Obi paused again. His eyes glittered. "I want to see everything you can do." He reached out and lifted the end of a lock of her black hair, running it through and around his fingers. "Get better, Ilena." He looked her in the eyes, his own tawny eyes deep and unfathomable. "Learn to run again. Come run with me."

Ilena's hungry eyes matched his. "I will, Obi."

He continued to look in her eyes for a moment longer, then he stood. "It's time for you to sleep. I'll stay for the rest of the night."

"Thank you," she said quietly as he blew out the candle.

She was asleep shortly after, but Obi stayed awake long, looking into the darkness, the light his heart could see shining more brightly.

-o-o-o-

The next day, after spending a morning studying together, Shirayuki went to lunch again with Zen while Rio fed Ilena lunch in her room. Rio was cleaning up the lunch when all of a sudden she noticed Ilena's face had tears streaking down it.

"Mistress!?" Rio was concerned. "What is it?"

Ilena's face scrunched up into a small child's perverse look, and from her mouth burst an infantile tantrum. "I WANT A BATH! WAAAHHHH! I'm so tired of being filthy. I don't want anyone to even come visit any more. And I'm going to have to lie here another six weeks before I get to have one! WAAAHHHHH!"

"Well, Mistress Ilena, you could have just said", Leah said, looking at her bemused. "We have been keeping you clean, you know."

"I KNOWwwwww, *sob*. But it's n-not the saaa-ame! It's not a good -sniff- soapy scrub with a looo-*hic*-onng *hic* soothing *hic* -sniff- soak after. I feel like a -sniff- pig that's been *hi-ic* wallowing too looong. AAAhHhhh!"

"It's alright, Mistress. If you think you can sit up enough, maybe we can bring in some washtubs." Leah looked at Rio with a significant look. "The room could use a good scrubbing down, too."

Rio perked up, "Ah, yes, Mistress Ilena. We can clean out the room and have the tubs and water brought in, and the spilled water can be used to wash the room clean, too. Then both of you will be clean together."

Leah added, "And while you're not in the bed, we'll clean the bed clothes and give the bedding a good airing out."

"YEAY! A BATH! A BATH!" Ilena clapped her hands. "The room and me get a bath!"

The guards outside Ilena's door, who normally found their job quite boring, except for all of the big hats who kept going in and out, decided that today was a good day. They would finally have a funny story to tell when they got off work. The younger one, Hue, who happened to have a teen-age sister, was having a hard time stifling laughter. His older partner, Sailte, finally said, "Go on, just get it over with." The younger let loose, laughing until he teared.

When he recovered, Sailte looked at him and said, "I thought it was refreshing. At my house all my wife gets to hear from the kids is, 'NOOOO! I DON'T WANNA TAKE A BATH!' as they run off. She makes me chase them down and carry them in. We still don't know why they do it since once they are in they have so much fun we can't get them..." He cut off as the door behind them opened and they jumped to attention.

"Mistress Ilena says thanks for the laugh, she's glad she could brighten your day, and you've just volunteered yourselves to help with the project."

"Ehhhh?" said Hue, not understanding how they could help since they were supposed to stay put.

Sailte knew they'd acted inappropriately and was apologetic. "Ah, sorry. We'll help."

"Come introduce yourselves properly," Ilena ordered, her voice still petulant, but not particularly angry. "But stand over there."

One at a time, they stepped just into the room, bowed and introduced themselves. Ilena introduced herself to them, "I'm Ilena, Director of Intelligence for Regent Zen. This is my secretary Leah, and my personal maid Rio." They each bowed slightly as their names were said. "They are in need of instructions as to how to go about requesting help from the general castle servants so they don't have to do all the work themselves or it will be a two day process, and I don't have that kind of time. As I also need to know the house rules, since I've come from being the steward of a Earldom but havent been employed in a castle of Clarines until now, please, will you tell all of us?"

Hue and Sailte looked at each other. Sailte said to Hue, "I'll leave it to you."

Hue smiled. "Okay!"

Sailte turned back to guard duty, but listened to the conversation behind him. Hue launched into a description of how the castle household was run, sprinkled with anecdotes and commentary on specific persons. Occasionally Sailte cleared his throat and Hue went from being respectfully casual to more formal until the person passing by the room had gone out of earshot. As he was winding down, he suddenly stopped and said, "But you could have just requested that the Castle Steward come and talk to you, or one of his staff?"

Ilena smiled at him, "I suppose, and there are many I would like to invite in to ask many questions to, but I don't think it would have been as fun to listen to." He laughed, embarrassed. She pouted, "Besides, how could I invite _anyone_ here to visit when it is a less desirable place to visit than a pigsty. And who has ever seen the high office of Director brought to such a low state? I certainly couldn't bring such shame upon it." She turned to Leah, "Plleeeaaase?! Can we start  now, _please_?!"

Leah sighed, "Mistress..."

"Hello! What's going on?" Shirayuki had returned from her lunch with Zen.

Hue jumped and returned to his proper position.

"Ah, Mistress Shirayuki," Leah bowed to her. "Mistress Ilena was just begging for a bath."

"Not a bath," frowned Ilena. "A get-really-soapy-and-soak-bath."

"Ahh...," Shirayuki entered the room and closed the door behind her. "And how were you proposing to accomplish that?"

"We were thinking we could bring in wash tubs, fill them with warm water, and have Mistress sit in one for soaping and rinsing, and the other would be for her to soak in." Leah answered.

Rio added, "We're sure it will put water everywhere, so we were thinking we could scrub the room while we were at it."

"And change the bedding," added Leah.

"Please, Princess Shirayuki? I'm going to have to lie here in my filth again for six more weeks. I really can't take it any more."

Shirayuki was thoughtful. "I believe you're only just now able to sit up at all. Even if we give you your bath, you won't likely be able to sit long enough for much of a soak. Even just a thorough cleaning may overtax you." Ilena was looking crestfallen and panicked at the same time. "But I can certainly understand your desire to be clean, and have a clean room. ...And another six weeks is indeed a long time. ...If you want it badly enough that you're willing to go through the pain you may have to suffer, then you may have one...in two days."

"YEAY! A bath! A bath!" Ilena clapped her hands.

"Thank you, Mistress Shirayuki. That will give us time to prepare." Leah said gratefully. She'd been very concerned about what Ilena would have been like if she'd been refused.

-o-o-o-

Other people had other plans. Very shortly after lunch, Zen received a note from Doctor Elliot. He informed the Prince that he would be done with his research the following day and would be prepared to perform the experimental surgery on Ilena the day after that. That evening, Zen and his aides wrapped up their summaries from the first set of cases against Earl College and Zen ordered Obi to leave the castle to retrieve the second set of witnesses, allowing him the two day lead time Grandfather had requested.

Since Grandfather would be visiting Ilena after the dinner hour, Obi thought that it would be convenient to just go have dinner with Ilena again, and be present when Grandfather arrived. Zen just liked the idea of an excuse to have dinner with Shirayuki again...and besides, he was supposed to be making time for her, as well as following the orders of his court pharmacist to eat and rest appropriately. So, again, the two arrived at Ilena's room for the evening meal.

After they began eating, Zen told them that Doctor Elliot had sent him the note requesting that the surgery occur in two days. "We're also ready to begin the second set of cases against Earl College. I need to have Obi leave to collect the second set of witnesses at that time as well. Ilena will have Leah and Rio to watch over her and Shirayuki and Ryuu to assist Doctor Elliot with her recovery. That should be sufficient."

He looked up from his plate to horrified looks all around the room. Then everyone objected all at once and Ilena began to weep. Rio ran to her mistress to comfort her. Zen begged for quiet. When he finally had it, he asked Shirayuki to be the first to explain.

"That's the first day Ilena will be able to sit up for any length of time. She is desperate for a good cleansing bath and soak. I promised her she could have one on that day. To ask any woman to go twelve full weeks without being washed thoroughly and allowed a good soaking is a very hard thing." All the women in the room nodded. "Not to mention unhealthy."

"Prince Zen," Leah added informationally, "Mistress Ilena had her first tantrum over it today." Ilena blushed.

He looked at her in surprise. "Ah, I see. And Obi, what is your objection?"

Obi rubbed his head, not sure how to object. He looked at Ilena. "Ah...I had been hoping to be here for the surgery, so that I would know that she'd been properly seen to and so that I wouldn't be overly distracted from my duty."

"Mmm..." Having an Obi who was no longer his own agent was a different thing for Zen to remember when it came to orders that sent him out of the castle. "Shirayuki, could Ilena's bath be tomorrow? I would really like Obi to leave in two days. If the surgery were in the morning to midday time frame, Obi could leave in the afternoon or evening when Doctor Elliot says she's stable."

Shirayuki considered Zen's request. "Could we have Obi help us? The less Ilena has to do in moving around, the better. He has the strength to lift her."

Zen nodded, then had an idea. "Would you be willing to come to the office with him after the bath is done and learn somewhat of his tasks to help him make up for the time he wasn't able to be there? Maybe there is something he can teach you that will help his desk to not become overly full by the time he returns again, even if it is something small."

"Oohh, Master, I like that idea," Obi approved.

"Yes, I would be happy to do that," Shirayuki was pleased with the idea also.

"Ilena?" Zen looked at her. She nodded, though she wasn't quite capable of speech yet. "Okay, then let's do that. Shall we eat now?" He smiled at everyone, and they went back to their meal.

-o-o-o-

"That felt rather like a family gathering, didn't it? With Master as father and Mistress as mother," Obi said to Ilena after Zen and Shirayuki had been picked up by Mitsuhide and Kiki. He had his fingers interlaced behind his head.

"Mmm..., I guess. I'm afraid I wouldn't really know, though," Ilena answered. She sounded tired already.

"Has it already been a long day?" he asked her. She nodded.

"Um, Master Obi," Leah asked tentatively, "Is it alright that Mistress Shirayuki asked for your assistance tomorrow?"

Obi smiled at her. "Yes. I've been Ilena's nurse since the beginning, after all. It is no strange thing to have her ask it."

Rio's eyes went round and Leah looked like she would rather have heard a different answer. "It's okay," Ilena reassured them. They had no choice but to accept this odd reversal of roles.*

The next morning was a flurry of activity. Large wash tubs were brought to the room. Then water, hot from the kitchen fires and cold from the castle well, was brought bucket by bucket until the first tub was full. The maids got Ilena prepared, and Obi gently lifted her from her bed and placed her in it.

"You appear to have been losing weight," he frowned at her.

"Well, it's difficult to maintain it when I can only eat a select menu daily, and I'm not active enough to keep my muscles properly toned," Ilena agreed.

Shirayuki frowned as she began to scrub Ilena gently. "Indeed, I can see too much of your ribs. I think, once you're able to eat again, we'll have to make sure you're getting food in between meals, or we'll lose you to starvation before you can recover from your hip."

"I shall see to the kitchen, then, on my way to the laundry" Leah said as she stripped the bedding off Ilena's bed.

Rio and Obi moved the desk and chairs from the room, in preparation for scrubbing it down. Leah took the bedding and dirty clothing to the castle laundry, returning with clean linens about the time Obi was moving Ilena to the soaking washtub. Rio took the soapy water and began to scrub the room. Leah left the clean linens on the desk outside the room to keep them clean and joined in Rio's efforts, saying that she'd informed the kitchen of the meal change.

Obi paused in his crouch next to Ilena, then said to the maids, "I'm sure your efforts are appreciated by the castle staff, but there's actually another option to putting Ilena back into that bed."

"Oh?" Even Shirayuki was curious.

"Doctor Elliot asked for a larger room, both for Ilena's surgery and recovery. I could go get the key now and she could be moved after her soak. Then she would only have to be up this once."

The ladies all looked at each other and nodded. "Yes, please, Obi, if you could do that now?" Shirayuki asked. The maids didn't mind cleaning the room now that they'd started, especially now that they had the reward of being in a bigger room by afternoon.

Ilena sighed contentedly as she shifted slightly in the warm water. "A bath and a bigger room. Well, maybe it's okay, then, tomorrow."

Obi smiled and put his hand on her head. "Worried?"

"Well, I have learned that the practice of a thing is always more difficult than the theory of it. I know Doctor Elliot will do his best, and I want to do my best also." She smiled bravely back at him.

"That's good," he encouraged her. He rose from his crouch and said, "I'll go get the key and open the room, then I'll come back to help Ilena out of the tub."

When he returned, the room was clean, the bed made, and the furniture returned. Towels were set out on one of the chairs, waiting to receive Ilena. He carefully lifted her out of the now tepid water, and set her on the chair. Carefully, he dried her, refusing to let the other ladies help, though the maids were scandalized. Ilena just closed her eyes and sighed happily. When she was dry, Obi stepped back and the maids swarmed her as they helped her get dressed. When they needed her to stand briefly, Obi stepped back in to support her.

When she was ready, Obi bent over to pick her up. "Well, then, Princess, are you ready for your new throne?"

Leah looked at him sharply. Ilena was grinning at him as if at a shared joke, and when Leah looked at Shirayuki, the Mistress seemed to think it had been one as well. She frowned a bit, but could only let it slide.

With the guards going before them, they did make somewhat of a processional. Obi was glad they were only going around the corner and a few more doors down. He'd already turned the top covers down on one of the two beds, so he just had to place Ilena carefully in the center of it. When she was comfortably settled, he covered her with the top covers. Ilena took a deep breath and snuggled down into the bed. "Ahh...This is SOOoo much better. ...Mmmm..." Her retinue for the day smiled and sighed with relief and tiredness. "Thank you, Princess Shirayuki, Obi, Leah, Rio." she said. Almost before they could say 'You're welcome', she was asleep. There'd been a lot of excitement in that one morning for a body still in recovery.

Leah and Rio promised to see that she ate when she awoke and Shirayuki and Obi returned to the wing their quarters were in to get changed into clothing that wasn't wet, in preparation for going to the Rose office.

* * *

* _The role-reversal is that male nurses, particularly for female patients, are very uncommon in this world._ _For those of you hoping for a romantic interlude here...let me explain a bit. When one has been hospitalized for any length of time, the separation of emotions from tasks that is required by nurses and doctors becomes the same mind-body detachment the patients learn to have while they are under medical care. Thankfully that wears off when the patient has been home and recovered long enough to bring modesty issues back to normal embarrassment (or interest) levels. Ilena and Obi are still in nurse-patient body-emotion detachment here...and Obi is also now being motivated by his desire to see his Partner is being seen to properly. Sorry - no romance (yet)._


	19. Ilena Moves the Pieces on Zen's Board

_Okay, I do some crazy things in this chapter. We play the board openly. I may lose some of you, but those who love the politics and know how to read between the lines...this is for you (though it is open, not much reading between the lines here, folks). If you love Kiki X Mitsuhide, this is also for you. Heart feels for them. Then we get into Zen X Shirayuki, moving forward a bit as well. And Ilena gets soooo in trouble for this chapter later. Off the deep end we go...everything has been the up-hill climb to the top off the roller-coaster - here we go: see the drop below? (he he *evil grin*) We start with the cork-screw._

 _Ah...I've just today decided to post a new story off From Far Away. If you'd take a look at that one too, I'd appreciate it. It won't likely be an everyday post, as I'm starting it up new. I'm using it to keep going on this one's later chapters._

 _And...BIG THANKS to all you who are my steady readers. Please let me know if this chapter is just too "off", eh? It takes the rest of the story where it needs to go, though..._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 19 Ilena Moves the Pieces on Zen's Board**

When Obi and Shirayuki arrived at the Rose office, they found everyone but Tairn was gone from the office. Zen had official business in the early afternoon he was receiving in the throne room. There was a cold lunch waiting for them, however. After they ate, Obi began showing Shirayuki what his daily tasks were. Several messages and packets of reports came in so Obi also taught her how to tell which ones went to which person in the room, or were sent across the hall to the Rosebud office, though paper traffic usually went up, not down.

At some point, a message in a folder came that was bound with a white ribbon. "Don't open the bound ones," Obi taught her. "Those are for Master's eyes only. This one is from the soldiers. You can tell that by the white ribbon. It's probably related to the matter against Earl College, but we aren't to know unless Master tells us." He handed it to her to put on Zen's desk. "Gold ribbon is for King Brother, Master's is blue ribbon." He smiled at her. "If Mistress had a ribbon, it would be red."

"What color would Ilena's ribbon be?" Shirayuki asked.

Obi looked at her in surprise. "I don't know? What color would Mistress suggest?"

"Hmmm… Green is available… Black would be most intuitive, but seems inauspicious… Purple, maybe?"

"Well, Mistress could ask her what color she would like." Obi shrugged.

Shirayuki nodded. If she could remember, she would.

Zen's business kept him from returning to the office until nearly dinner time. They decided to eat dinner in the Rose office together, since they had missed lunch together, and Shirayuki and Obi were in the middle of a thing she wanted to stay and help finish. Before eating, Zen read the important messages, including the one with the white ribbon, but he didn't comment on it.

As everyone returned to work after dinner, Zen walked to the worktable, asking Mitsuhide to pull out the maps of central Wilant. Mitsuhide unrolled one on the table and Zen held it down while Mitsuhide unrolled another and they repeat the process for a third. Zen frowned in concentration and looked over the map, his finger tracing up to the area north of the Earldom. He looked at a few other things, then flipped through the other maps, putting his thoughts together.

Zen looked up. "Do you have the reports from the field?" he asked Kiki. She handed them to him. He flipped through them, reading some passages from a few, the reviewed the map again. Handing the reports back to Kiki, he walked to his desk. "Okay. Mitsuhide, get the maps and bring them. We'll go confirm a few things with Ilena."

"Ah, Master," Obi interjected, hearing the name of his partner, "we moved her to her new room in preparation for tomorrow."

"Okay. We'll go there, then."

As they headed out the door, Mitsuhide said to Kiki, "Feels like we're already heading into battle, just preparing for a little conversation."

Zen looked back at him, "We are. You've already seen it - she's as bad as elder brother. The only edge I have is that I hold her jesses."

They looked at him, a little taken aback, then Kiki said, not really meaning it, "Poor Zen."

When they arrived at Ilena's new room, Grandfather was there meeting with her, but they paused their conversation respectfully. Zen asked if she felt better now that she'd had her bath. She answered very happily. He gestured to Mitsuhide and the maps and told her he would like to talk to her one more time about what she thought the movements of the Earl would be once he moved to confront him and asked her show him on the map where the hiding houses of the Earl were. She asked Grandfather to stay, saying to Zen that he might be able to be of help, but sent her maids out "for an earned vacation" after they helped her sit up. Zen had Mitsuhide pull out the map of central Wilant and place it on her lap. Then they commenced to discuss actual locations she had seen and he had received reports of.

Mitsuhide and Kiki were progressively impressed that Zen and Ilena stood nearly toe to toe in understanding and discussing possible strategies and how to use the land, time and resources to their advantage. As Zen wrapped up a point and considered which one to bring up next, Mitsuhide asked Ilena where she learned how to militarily plan. She looked up at him, and he saw a light in her eyes that reminded him sharply of Izana. She had decided he was testing her and had just as quickly risen to the challenge of the game as Izana would have. He unconsciously straightened to attention in reaction.

Zen sighed to himself, but admitted Mitsuhide had a right to understand Ilena for himself. He could always step in if he needed to.

To Kiki, it felt like they'd just entered a list field. _It is going to be an interesting visit with this person Zen has recently brought to the_ _castle because there is no helping Mitsuhide_. She relaxed into fighting ready stance, then heard a soft sigh behind her. She glanced over at the person Ilena called Grandfather, to see him shaking his head resignedly. He noticed her looking and smiled an apology as if to say, _there is nothing to be done, but I wish she wouldn't_. She smiled back a smile to say, _well, he brought it on himself_.

"Mister Mitsuhide," Ilena opened with a bland smile, "do you read all of Obi's reports to Master Zen? I'm sure he has been meticulous in them of everything," there was a slight emphasis on 'everything', "I have said in his hearing."

 _That's a fairly powerful beginning_ , thought Kiki.

Mitsuhide decided to start firm but neutral and keep it simple so he didn't trap himself without knowing. But it already felt like a lecture was coming. "Yes, I do."

"Then, if you'll recall Obi's report from yesterday," Zen frowned and Kiki all of a sudden felt a little queasy, "you'll remember that I explained that Earl College has been steadily increasing his personal 'army', if you will, for a number of years. And he has been keeping them active, as Obi reported from the first personal interrogation of myself by Prince Zen. As I'm sure was included in his report, in which I explained how we learned the method of using small levels of the drug 'the Little Death' in a controlled manner, you understand already that I was never out of sight, or at least ear-shot, of the Earl. It is, with very little calculation I am sure, certainly understandable that I should have learned from his own war table."

 _Ara! She attacked us, all four, in one stroke! I thought she'd leave it at just Mitsuhide_. Kiki looked at Zen. It looked like he was thinking he might end the game of wits right there.

But Mitsuhide had practice with this sort of thrust and didn't flinch. "Obi's report from yesterday did include Earl College's increase of his men. And certainly we have all been kept busy reinvestigating his hand in all of the cases you offered as proof for a number of weeks now. If he kept you by his side in all things, as you said, then you would certainly have learned how he thinks strategically if you were paying attention." Mitsuhide took a breath, then slightly cocked his head. This next was not his kind of thing - he usually defended, not attacked. He _preferred_ people being straight with him, of course. "However, your report from when you were in the garrison in Osterly, stated that the Earl was not known to be particularly crafty or intelligent himself. So it seemed to me that perhaps an education at his war table would have been somewhat lacking."

Ilena smiled.

 _Eh?_ The move surprised Kiki, who was used to this kind of battle. Ilena had just rewarded Mitsuhide at a point where most who played this game would have affected a slightly offended look.

"Indeed. The truth is that Earl College is one of the most predictable of strategists there is. If there is anything that could ever endear me to him, it is that one point." Her face went back to pleasantly neutral. "However, he has the craftiness of the worst sort of wolf, make no mistake. You have been hearing me talk with Master Zen confidently about what are the possible options the Earl will consider, and a few his supporters will suggest, because I've heard them at the table many times discuss what they would do to escape this or that situation." She fell silent and looked at Mitsuhide expectantly.

He considered what she'd said and decided his disquiet was from the fact that she seemed to have presented the answer but it felt incomplete. Was she waiting for him to accept the answer as she had presented it? Oh! ...She had answered all the points he had attacked with, but nothing more. Where did one take the game when this happened? She hadn't actually answered his original question. To accept it as it was was to admit defeat and lack of intelligence. To press on would be to appear to be a bully, which he wasn't.

Kiki stepped up beside Mitsuhide. "Of course, there could be no better person for Zen to be able to consult with in this matter. However, it's apparent from your ability to keep up with Zen's natural talent that you have either natural strategic talent yourself, or you've spent a good deal of time working to sharpen your skills." _She opened the door for any of us to get involved, and then made the required opening. She's testing all of us_. Kiki understood, though she was worried that Mitsuhide didn't. Maybe she'd explain it to him later. She opened her mouth to continue but Ilena held up her hand.

"Pause a moment, Miss Kiki." Kiki was so surprised her mouth hung open for a moment. There was a bite in Ilena's eyes, like a rebuke. "Not later, now."

"Wa..'now'?"

"Do you really want him by your side?"

Kiki shook her head in confusion. "What?"

Ilena waited a moment until Kiki recovered a bit more. "Doesn't he need to be able to understand so he can support you in _all_ things?" Kiki's heart froze. Zen shifted and Ilena shot him a venomous look. He held very still.

Kiki's mind subconsciously ran through what she had just been thinking and the conversation up to this point, looking at all the patterns and paths. One thing was apparent. Ilena was _not_ predictable, and was therefore very likely very dangerous. How had Ilena known what she was thinking? It wasn't even related to the topic at hand. Finally her mind began to see how the new board had been laid. If she said 'no' now, she would lose, and not just to Ilena in this new conversation, but everything she was planning for her future. Ilena would end the new conversation immediately, of course, and that might feel good, but she would lose Mitsuhide's trust and she would be admitting that a weaker Mitsuhide was sufficient to stand by her side.

Remembering that this was the person who was determined to move Zen and Shirayuki forward, she felt several emotions run through her. Ilena was offering to do the same for her, starting here and now, without even asking. It was a prayer fulfilled, but it also made her very angry. She wanted to throw that anger at Ilena and end the game immediately, and in the past she would have, but in this game one never allowed anger to take over until it was well considered first, and well deserved. And... she really was desperate. The same desperation had driven her to do a thing she had never done before and play Obi's game to cheer everyone up. And it had worked. If she allowed herself to do another thing she had never done before, would it work? Could she trust this person? ...Or did that matter? Maybe it just mattered what she herself wanted.

Mitsuhide shifted, but Zen held up a cautionary finger, telling him to 'hold his position'. Zen could read Kiki pretty well by now and had seen the emotional play go through her, even though she hadn't moved. She was giving serious thought to this.

Kiki turned to Mitsuhide. "Miss Ilena has...offered...to turn this into a training match, rather than continue on in the traditional method of testing by words, though that will also occur as we continue, of course. By telling you this, I am accepting her offer, which is in itself also a challenge. Thus, we are now playing two boards, as it were."

She waited until it looked like Mitsuhide understood that much. Running back in her mind to where Ilena had stopped her and her last thought, she said, "I stepped in not because you didn't know what to say, but because she had interrupted the typical 'thrust and parry' you were engaged in with a 'block'. She had addressed your 'thrust', then retreated, not attacking, but also presenting nothing to you."

Mitsuhide nodded. "That's what it felt like, yes."

"A verbal 'block' is just as difficult to overcome as a swordsman's is, when the fighting is one-on-one. I don't think it efficient to go into how to deal with it at this time, just so you understand if you are presented with it again, you will know how to consider it." Mitsuhide nodded again while Kiki thought of how to explain the next step that occurred. "At the beginning, your question to her was a challenge to step into the fighting list. That is, you were the first to make a thrust. She accepted it merely by the look she gave you, the one that made you come to attention." Mitsuhide tried to hide a shudder. "Then she opened with an implied slur, followed by an unexpected attack."

"Unexpected? It sounded like a fairly normal attack to me."

"Did it? Whom did she attack?" Mitsuhide tried to remember.

" 'If you will remember Obi's report from yesterday,...'," Ilena helpfully prompted.

"Ah. Obi." Mitsuhide said.

"Yes, but, harder to distinguish, she also attacked Zen, you and me - trying to ferret out where we fit into Zen's hierarchy - did Zen let us read the report? This was unexpected because she immediately widened the challenge field to be a one-on-four challenge, with her as the challenger. This is considered to be as ambitious and potentially overly prideful as if it had been done in the list." Ilena inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement of the slight scolding.

Kiki continued, "It also has the same intent. She was announcing that she desired to have the challenge to be not just a simple repartee in which she would eventually answer your question, but that she preferred to move it immediately into a test of how the four of us work as a group. Because she made the challenge with three of us present, she opened the list for any of us to answer to her at any time. If she hadn't, you would have had to fight her on your own until you lost."

Ilena raised her hand, "May I?" Kiki paused, then remembering this was Ilena's offer, nodded. "Mister Mitsuhide, your answer was flawless and received high marks." He blushed a little. "You defended all four of you very well with a smooth delivery, and wrapped it up with a light compliment. It was a delight to receive." Now, even Zen was looking at her like she was a little crazy. "The pause before your attack let me know that you were not as used to verbally attacking as to defense, but the method and point were appropriate and you continued to carry the delivery sufficiently well, thus the delivery, or thrust, was awarded average points."

Kiki picked the lesson back up at Ilena's pause. "At the end of your delivery, Miss Ilena again moved unexpectedly. The typical defense would have been to frown slightly as if offended. But instead, Miss Ilena smiled." Kiki cocked her head. "How did that make you feel? When she smiled and then agreed with you, Mitsuhide?"

"Ah, it was...camaraderie?"

Kiki nodded. "She gave you a 'reward'...mmm...like an opponent in a friendly match who takes a particularly difficult attack to execute, then pauses and congratulates you for having pulled it off well, before returning to the fight."

"Oh! I see." Mitsuhide nodded.

"Then she followed that up with a warning and a block. Like the opponent on the list would swing his sword in a circle to loosen the hand, then step back as if to attack, yet instead sets their shield and waits to see what you would do next."

"Right. And I could see a way that meant 'yield' and another that would be a too-aggressive attack. I didn't want to do either."

"Right," Kiki nodded. "There are always more than two ways to approach, but as I said before, against a shield it is difficult to find the path alone. However, because she'd opened the list to all of us, it was...um, legal, for either Zen or I to attack, or to make an opening to attack, to deflect the shield so that you could get through it, or to defend you and attack from another side, which is what I did. I stepped in, respectfully redirected her attention to me, and defended you. At that point, either you or I could have made the delivery. I was about to when Miss Ilena stopped me, picked me up and put us on a completely different list. This was the third very unexpected thing she did." Her annoyance showed.

"Hah!" Zen's fist hitting his palm startled Kiki and Mitsuhide. They looked at him, and he said, "Ah, no, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Kiki, looking over to Ilena, saw she was again smiling that rewarding smile. Kiki sourly looked at Zen. "Looks like you've won a point. No, you've won." Zen looked at her in surprise, then over at Ilena and saw her smile that was an honest grin.

He smiled back. "Yes, I did," he said smugly, crossing his arms. Kiki ground her teeth.

"What?" Mitsuhide asked.

"Zen has figured out the answer to your initial question to Miss Ilena. Without actively participating at all. It is annoying."

"Why?"

"Because she opened the challenge to all of us, _each_ of us must understand the answer, or yield and accept that we won't know it. He has taken himself off the board just now, thus it is appropriate to consider him a traitor."

"But that's...," said Mitsuhide confused.

Zen said, "Now, wait...I said I was sorry." Zen hurried to explain when Ilena looked at him expectantly. "Ah...I fouled out, is what really happened, Mitsuhide. Because I exclaimed aloud, I couldn't hide the fact that I had figured it out and stay in the game. If a player finds the answer before others do, he or she may hide that fact and use it as an advantage to aid the others in finding their way to the answer as well. In Kiki's analogy, it would be like as if I had seen the opponent's weakness, and then applied pressure to it so that it would become easier for you two to finish off the opponent. However, to immediately state one knows when one finds out, when on a multiplayer board, or multiplayer list, when the others don't know yet and can't see it, means that one is stepping out of the list. It counts as an individual win, but as a penalty to the team."

"If the other challengers on the board _are_ a team." Ilena said quietly. "If they aren't, then to announce knowledge of the answer without stating what it is, is one way to excuse oneself from the game early, a 'sideways personal defense'. Thus Miss Kiki's complaint that it feels like Master Zen is a traitor and the necessity he feels to apologize that it was an accident."

Mitsuhide creased his brow in thought, "Because Zen exclaimed, he removed himself as an ally, but he wanted to reassure Kiki that he still considers himself part of our team?"

"Mmm," nodded Zen.

Kiki sighed. "Zen himself still has more strength to gain here as well."

Ilena raised her eyebrow, "Perhaps, but still, he is at an advanced level." She raised her hand. "Let us return to the first list, shall we? I believe we left off with Miss Kiki's defense of Mister Mitsuhide."

Zen jumped in immediately. "Kiki, you said to Ilena, 'it is apparent from your ability to keep up with Zen's natural talent that you have either natural strategic talent yourself, or you've spent a good deal of time working to sharpen your skills'. Can you answer that yourself already?"

"Eh? ...Ah...yes," Kiki slumped slightly. Mitsuhide looked confused again.

"Mister Mitsuhide, Master Zen has just played a 'helping hand' to Miss Kiki, that is he has given her the one clue she needed to figure out the answer for herself. She gains no points for having the answer, but she no longer needs to fight on the list - a neutral position, and acceptable," Ilena explained. "Master Zen technically shouldn't have done it, having removed himself from the board, but because he considers himself still on the team, it could be allowed. And under the circumstances, he probably can't help himself."

"But...doesn't that leave me alone on the board?" Mitsuhide did the calculations.

"Does it?" she responded with a small smile. "You may choose."

"Choose?" he thought about that. He could choose to continue on by himself and Ilena would continue to verbally spar with him as long as he could go, which sounded lonely and hard, or he could ask them to explain it to him, thus, for this game, forfeiting, something he always did when this sort of thing happened with King Izana. Or... _There are always more than two ways to approach_ , Kiki had said. ... He could ask them to step back on the list, like Zen had just done, and they would continue to help him if he wished to learn more about this art. _Ah, that feels like what I want to feel like. If we are a team, I can ask them to continue to help me become what I want to become, even in this_. He looked up at Ilena with a bright smile and her eyes lit up. "I yield, Miss Ilena, if you will consent to another such lesson sometime when we are all free."

The bright smile went to her lips. "Done. ...Hah! That was wonderfully done, Mister Mitsuhide. You're skills are already well honed. It won't be long before you're able to reach your goal, I think." She looked slyly out of the corners of her eyes at Kiki, "Especially now that you've been given a way to think about it so that your mind can be more agile."

Kiki flushed, but bowed slightly to Ilena. "Thank you, Miss Ilena."

It was a bit stiffly said, but Ilena waved it aside, "It was your doing, Miss Kiki." A kind smile was on her lips. "Though I think you're now stronger for having done it, yes?"

Kiki thought about that. _Am I? In having done something uncharacteristically am I stronger for it?_ An insight flashed through her, and she struggled to grasp it, then she had it. "Oh! I see. I see what you saw Zen."

"And what is that, Miss Kiki?" asked Ilena.

Slowly she replied, "There is strength in ...unpredictability, in..."

"Doing the unexpected," supplied Zen from his answer.

"From being flexible," said Mitsuhide. Zen and Kiki looked at Mitsuhide in surprise.

"How did you come up with that answer?" Kiki asked.

Mitsuhide grinned at her, "Isn't that how we fight best? By being able to flexibly change our patterns against our opponent? That's what you learned from watching Earl College, isn't it Miss Ilena? When we are flexible and willing to think of the 'more than two things', we find the best answers. But even better answers are found when we're able to do that together, when we're able to face our opponent as a team, flexibly."

"Haaaah. Mister Mitsuhide has said it best! Now if you can all put it into practice, Master Zen will be very proud of you," Ilena said happily, then narrowed her eyes. "...but I will be prouder."

"Hey! You!" Zen said his tone one of mocking reproach, but his face was smiling.

"Ha, haha, ha!" laughed Ilena, clapping her hands. "Ah, I am so happy."

Zen looked at her, glad for her smile, but thinking she was so very different from anything he had ever experienced before. Then he said, "Ilena, that was an unexpected lecture."

Smiling still, she tipped her head, "You're welcome, your Highness. I hope it has helped sufficiently."

Zen sighed. Ilena had intentionally misunderstood him.

They heard a quiet clearing of the throat, and looked around in surprise. Grandfather was standing behind them, having been forgotten until now. "Ah, I'm sorry Grandfather." Ilena said, contritely. "I got carried away again. I shall answer your question, Mister Mitsuhide, after your own manner. If you wish, you may consider it your reward. ...Earl College is and always has been my enemy, and the enemy of Obi, whom I love." _Love? Obi?_ Mitsuhide and Kiki hadn't heard this news before so directly. "However, I was his. Therefore, I chose to use this to my advantage - I learned of him and from him. While I was required to be obedient to him, I never helped him to have an advantage that I did not also exploit to his detriment. Each time he planned an attack, I planned a counter-defense to his attack that he wouldn't be able to comprehend."

"What Master Zen understood at the first was that I do, indeed have inborn natural talent, and that I _also_ have studied most diligently to improve upon it. I believe I have yet more to learn. While I worked to plan counter- _defenses_ , I didn't study counter- _attacks_ , as Master Zen has, for I didn't have the resources. So I'll learn from Master Zen what I don't know. This time it will be for the _defense_ of my master, rather than for his destruction. Though all along it was for the defense of my master, for Master Zen has always been my master, since I've lived in Clarines."

She stopped and tilted her head, looking to see what effect her words had on Mitsuhide. "I believe I've already answered to your greater concerns for me personally, the remainder will come with time, for all of us. But there's another thing that I must defend to you." She pursed her lips. "It is normally my way to _bring_ people to an understanding, as I showed you during our match. In being forthright, I am not strong, for I've learned that such words are often merely boasts with no substance, or are lies that hide truths difficult to find. So for my own defense, I have brought you to an understanding in my own way. However, I can't do the same for what still needs to be defended. Rather, it must needs be the reverse. Please forgive me."

Ilena looked at Kiki, including her. "When Obi wrote of how the Earl increased his men, did he include in the report what I did with the household members who were sent away?" All three nodded. "Then please understand, we had lived many years together as prisoners in that place. Because I stood in their defense as best I could, always increasing in strength, I became 'Mother'. But even a Mother needs strengthening. Grandfather," she gestured at him, "was such a one. He was the original house steward when I came to the house. Of all the people there, he was the only one who understood fully the ways of staying alive in that place. Thus, I became his strength and he became my mentor until such time that our positions were reversed. Since that time he has been my strength and still yet my mentor. He is one I protect at all costs."

"But a defense of him is insufficient, for I bring to Master Zen not only Grandfather, but _all_ of the household who love me, love Obi, love House Wisteria, and desire peace and prosperity for their country, for I will have none in my house who don't love what I love. To do less than that would show disrespect to them. In that house, we were forced to remain in a place not of our desires. In my house, I offer a place to fulfill desires, but none are required to remain. Any are free to leave with my blessing - it has no walls, nor any need of them. I cannot defend them any better to you than this, Mister Mitsuhide, Miss Kiki, Master Zen, at this time. With the passage of time, you will receive the evidence. Will you please trust my word that my house will not bring trouble and shame upon Prince Zen?"

Placing his hand upon Ilena's head, Mitsuhide said, "You are already working too hard. It is sufficient for now."

Kiki looked at Mitsuhide, weighing his spoken and unspoken opinion, then looked to Zen, who nodded. "Miss Ilena, you are a very formidable opponent. I am in your care," she said.

"Please take care of me," Ilena responded to them all.

Zen sighed. "Do you two remember that little conversation we had as we left my office to come here? I do believe I've completely forgotten what I wanted to talk about next." Ilena held her hand to her mouth and mouthed, _I'm so sorry_. Zen rubbed his hand through his hair and waved it away. "Give me a minute and I'll remember."

Kiki looked at Mitsuhide from the corner of her eye, "I seem to remember it being said at that time by a certain someone, that we were 'just preparing for a little conversation'."

"Mmm," Mitsuhide rubbed his chin. "Yes, I do believe Zen was right. She is as bad as King Izana."

"Maybe worse," said Kiki.

"Oh, no," Zen was quick to correct her, "Elder Brother won't let you win, and won't help you make the next move, either. You sink or swim on your own merits. Ah, also he is very abbreviated compared to Ilena, out of necessity." He sent a scolding look to Ilena. His own time was also valuable.

Mitsuhide nodded, "That's true."

Zen looked at Grandfather. "I interrupted your conversation this evening. May we allow you to finish it?"

Ilena and Grandfather looked at each other. Ilena said to him, "Please pass on my love. I shall do my best to hurry and recover."

"Please do your best to not tear down the house and make your mother cry while you are waiting."

Ilena laughed. "I will try, Grandfather."

"*Sigh* ...but it will be difficult. I know."

"Maybe Master will let me bring in some entertainment?" She looked at Zen slyly.

Zen shook his hand as if to ward off evil, saying, "Grandfather, you'll let Obi know immediately if she needs restraining, please."

"Yes, Sir," Grandfather grinned wickedly, then bowed. "I'll see myself out."

"May tomorrow find us once again in this company and may the light of the suns of Clarines shine on you always," Ilena said to him. He bowed to her and exited the room.

"Ilena, if you're Mother, who's Father? Is it Obi?" Kiki asked, remembering the startling claim from earlier that Ilena had made.

"Ah," Ilena blushed, "that...is a difficult question to answer."

There was a knock at the door, and Shirayuki entered. "Ah, am I saved by the arrival of Mistress?" Ilena asked in a very Obi-like way.

"Saved from what, Ilena?" Shirayuki asked.

"I've just asked her…," Kiki began.

"...to expound on her love life and dreams", interrupted Zen.

"Oh! So cruel, Master!" Ilena pouted.

"Oh?" said Shirayuki.

"I think it sounds like fair play, is all," said Kiki.

Ilena looked at her as if frightened and shivered. "Ah, Dark Kiki! Protect me, please, Master."

He looked at her like he was in agreement with Kiki, then said, "Kiki, please consider that I just said the words 'expound' and ' _her_ ' in the same sentence."

Kiki looked at Ilena as a cat looks at a mouse it just caught to see if it will flee. Then relented, "Well, perhaps later, then."

Ilena looked sad, "Oh, it is punishment indeed, to be freed by an insult. *sniff* Mistress, please come comfort me. They have all been being cruel to me, even Grandfather at the end."

Shirayuki moved to sit next to Zen, who had finally given up and sat on the bed. He had patted it, inviting her over. "Well, Ilena, isn't that because you've earned it, then?"

"Eh?! Even Mistress will side over there? Ah, who is it will love me?" Ilena sighed.

Mitsuhide put his hand on her head and smiled down into her surprised eyes. She unexpectedly teared up, "Oh, no," she hurriedly wiped her eyes, "don't do that, eyes. Mister Mitsuhide has been so kind."

Mitsuhide pulled a chair over next to the bed and sat so he was at eye-level with Ilena. He looked her in the eye with a kindly smile and said, "Let's do that again, but this time, let your eyes do what they will." Then he put his hand on her head again.

Ilena was stunned into loss of all thought, and her eyes did what they would - which is overflow and spill, and then she began to cry. Zen put his arm around Shirayuki and watched proprietarily. "Mmmm ...Mnnn. …*sniff* heh heh ...w..w..wwwaaahhhh! Ahhhh!" Ilena put the backs of her hands to her eyes and rubbed the tears that overflowed. Kiki got out a handkerchief and handed it to Mitsuhide matter of factly. He accepted it and wiped a cheek and her nose. Ilena dropped her hands and continued to wail while he wiped. She finally wound down and he handed her the handkerchief. She took it and hid her eyes with it. Then, she peeked out at him shyly. He was smiling encouragingly. She hid her eyes again, then closed them and blew her nose gently and leaned back against her pillows, sighing and quietly recovering. Mitsuhide and Kiki felt vindicated.

Shirayuki, who had been bursting with questions, felt like she could finally ask, "What is it?"

Mitsuhide looked over at her with a smile. Kiki glanced at Shirayuki and Zen, and choosing to do another new thing, slowly reached up a hand and placed it on Mitsuhide's shoulder. Mitsuhide looked up at her in surprise, though didn't move otherwise. Kiki smiled an uncomfortable, timid smile. Mitsuhide relaxed and grinned back.

Zen leaned into Shirayuki, pointed at the pair, and said, "That."

Ilena peeked open an eye to see, then closed her eye and smiled. Kiki looked up at Ilena, saw the smile, and flushed. She was about to remove her hand in embarrassment when Ilena said, without opening her eyes, "Don't. You must also do what I said to Princess Shirayuki and Master Zen." Kiki stopped and left her hand on Mitsuhide's shoulder, but looked quizzical. "Princess Shirayuki, what is it I said you must do?"

"From this time on, I must always act, believe, and see myself as a princess. Not just any princess, but Prince Zen's princess. Everything I choose to do must reflect this as already being a fact, or it will never have the chance to be a reality."

"Very good. And have you been practicing that?"

"Yes."

"Good. Master Zen, what did I tell you you must do?"

"I also must see her as only Princess Shirayuki. I must provide a place for her to stand, to welcome her into it whenever she chooses to enter it, in whatever capacity she has reached, until the day I announce my intentions."

"Very good. And have you taken the time to practice thinking in this way?"

Zen smiled. "Yes."

"Good. Continue to remember to think this way as often as you can until you no longer have to think about it, it just is." Ilena breathed softly for a few breaths, then opened her eyes and looked at Mitsuhide with a smile, then up at Kiki. "Think very carefully, Miss Kiki. How do both of these instructions apply to you?"

Kiki looked at Mitsuhide thoughtfully, her brow creased in thought. "I must act, believe, and see myself...as already a fact or it will never be reality. No, my goal. …" She looked back to Ilena. "Do I not believe it?"

"No, Miss Kiki, you do not," Ilena said gently. "...I see that frightens you."

Mitsuhide was worried at this statement and put his hand on top of Kiki's. Kiki was surprised by the touch, and looked down at his hand on hers, then looked into his eyes. She could see he still didn't fully comprehend what was going on, but he did understand that if she was frightened about something, he wanted to comfort her. She turned her face away and covered her eyes with her other hand, surreptitiously wiping away an unexpected tear. Kiki recovered and looked at Zen, who looked back encouragingly. Slowly, Kiki said, "And, I must ...see my goal as if it's already accomplished and ...provide a space for it ...so it can flourish." She frowned in concentration, trying to understand what it meant.

Ilena nodded, catching Kiki's attention. After looking at her for a pause, Ilena looked at Mitsuhide and said, "When you understand that a thing needs doing that you can do, you will do it." He nodded, listening to learn her intent. "Can you understand what Miss Kiki needs, Mister Mitsuhide?"

He tightened his grip on her hand, almost subconsciously. Kiki was so surprised she gasped. He looked up at her quickly, then started to let go of her hand and appologize, but Ilena quickly said, "No, Mitsuhide. You were right. You did what you were supposed to. Return to it." Confused, he tried to remember what it was he had done. Kiki's hand on his shoulder tightened, and he reflexively tightened his grip on her hand again, then remembered that this is where he was. He was almost even more confused now and shook his head a little, trying to understand.

Zen laughed softly, almost in awe. "It's there, so subconsciously, so automatically for both of them." Mitsuhide's hand put slightly more pressure on Kiki's, though this time it was to press it down into his shoulder as if to protect her, to say, _I've got you_.

Ilena looked at Kiki. "Mister Mitsuhide, what are you thinking right now?" Her eyes defied Kiki to look away from her while he answered.

He frowned. "I was thinking, 'I'd like to protect her'."

Kiki began to melt silently, starting from her eyes.

"Miss Kiki," Ilena says gently, "can you tell that it's already accomplished? You merely need to open the space."

Kiki's hand in Mitsuhide's was now trembling, and he was suddenly made aware of her distress by it. He turned to look up at her again and finally saw her tears. He quickly stood up, not letting go of her hand, and stood worriedly but uncertainly before her.

"Mister Mitsuhide," Ilena said firmly. "Let's do that again, but this time, let your body do what it will."

Ilena's words, which normally would have made Kiki go cold with embarrassment, this time made her begin to sob. Mitsuhide would have called a halt to the whole thing, but just then he felt the strength leaving Kiki through her hand. He quickly let go of her hand and grabbed her in both arms and pulled her to him. He couldn't keep them both up, it was so sudden, and they sank to the floor. Zen gasped, lept up, and moved the chair out of the way for them. Then he stood above them, grinning. Shirayuki had her hands to her mouth, her cheeks flushed.

Mitsuhide, trying to understand what his body had just done, discovered he didn't want to let Kiki go. He stopped trying to figure it out and stopped thinking, instead doing what he would do when he was on the list practicing with the sword, he _felt_. Felt the flow of Kiki and what was going on with her. As he did so, his head dropped to be close to Kiki's, until his breath could be heard by her ear, felt by her cheek. She tensed and he stopped moving, but didn't change position or pull away.

Ilena whispered very quietly, "Master Zen..." He looked back at her and she motioned him to come away from them and closer to her. He stepped back quietly until he was standing next to the head of her bed. He took a moment to look up to Shirayuki, who now had tears finally dripping slowly down, and smiled at her, but he didn't move yet from where he was.

Kiki had relaxed again, and her tears were beginning to slow. Mitsuhide carefully turned his head so his face was facing her, loosening his arms at the same time so he could shift just enough that there was space between their faces, but not letting go. Then he rested his forehead on hers and said softly, "Kiki, my heart hurts. I'm worried for you. Please, tell me: what's wrong?"

Ilena reached out and clasped Zen's hand, holding it tightly. He looked down at her in surprise and saw that every fiber of her was fighting alongside Kiki and Mitsuhide, wishing for their best outcome. He smiled tenderly and wrapped his fingers around her hand.

Kiki reached up, and grasped Mitsuhide's jacket front for courage. She thought of moving away from him to sit up and face him, then realized she didn't want to. Remembering, she stayed still. _'Maybe it just mattered what I myself wanted.' I said it myself. It matters what I want. ...It_ _matters_ _what_ _I_ _want!_ As she began to cry again, she said to Mitsuhide, "I want you."

Mitsuhide, who had been waiting, balanced as he would if he were practicing with the sword waiting to see the next swing in his practice routine, found he was suddenly off balance with her words. He swayed, trying to stay in the 'practice' state while at the same time comprehend what he just heard. "Will you say that again?" he whispered.

A little hiss escaped Ilena. Kiki heard it and obediently backed her fiery emotion back down before it flared. She took a shaky breath and said, a little more normally and clearly, "I want you."

It was Mitsuhide's turn to collapse. He dropped his head onto her shoulder and he couldn't keep his arms up any more.

Ilena shook her head in alarm. It was a physical representation that his balanced state had failed, but she was worried it meant he'd given up. Zen pressed her hand in his, encouraging her. He knew his man. He looked in her worried eyes and mouthed, 'It's okay', and smiled a knowing smile. She searched his face, then nodded. She would trust him.

Mitsuhide realized the answer he must give, and turned his head just enough so Kiki would hear him. "You already have me."

Kiki trembled a little at the answer, finding it difficult to believe it. "Is it okay, for me to want you?"

Mitsuhide waited for the answer to well up in him. He paused a moment when it arrived, but he remembered Ilena, and continuing to trust her words, he said them. "I don't want you to have anyone else." The room went electric but statue still. Then the tears and emotion poured out of Mitsuhide and he cried like a little child, bereft and lost.

Kiki sat up and took him in her arms, holding him as he had held her. She put her mouth close to his ear and haltingly said to him, "Mitsuhide...I'm sorry. … I...love you. I've loved you for a long time. Since the first day you came to my rescue, I've wanted you to be always by my side. ...I've been jealous of Zen. I didn't believe you would allow me to want you. I believed that there wasn't room for me. I didn't understand that I just needed to say it. I'm sorry."

Mitsuhide lifted one hand and wrapped it around Kiki, holding her. "It feels like...I've been trying to tell you...all the time...like I've been shouting...with all my energy."

Shirayuki was stuffing her fist into her mouth, trying not to sob or make a noise and interrupt them. Zen gently let go of Ilena's hand and quietly walked over to the bed again without getting too close to the couple on the floor. He picked up the pillow and handed it to Shirayuki. She shoved her face into it and Zen sat down next to her again, holding her while she cried.

Kiki touched Mitsuhide's cheek, then lifted his head so she could look into his eyes. Wiping the tears from his face with her thumbs, she asked, "Mitsuhide, I know it is a difficult thing to ask, and we'll need help...and 'flexibility'...to get there, but ...will you come with me? ...Will you marry me, and be my partner - for all my life?"

Even Zen's eyes got misty. Ilena's hands were clenched and white.

Mitsuhide was still for a while, trying to find the answer within, surprise on his face, even for all they had just said. He finally shifted, putting his elbow on his upraised knee, and ran his hand through his hair, resting his head on his hand. Then it was as if he had come to awareness. He started and looked around, his eyes seeking Zen's. He had to turn to see him, but he stayed close to Kiki, unconsciously putting his hand on top of hers on the floor between them to continue to feel her warmth. When he found Zen's eyes, he relaxed into his 'home'. "Zen." His eyes plead.

Still holding Shirayuki close, Zen smiled at Mitsuhide. "Is it what you want?" he asked.

Mitsuhide considered briefly, then smiled gently. "Yes."

Zen looked into Kiki's eyes. "Is it what you want?" She nodded. "Are you willing to work for it?"

She teared up again. "Please...," she whispered, "please let me have Mitsuhide, too."

Zen gently let go of Shirayuki, left the bed and moved to crouch before Kiki and Mitsuhide. He put one hand on each of their outside shoulders and looked at each of them in the face with a tender look. "I hope you will be happy - for a very long time - together." He pulled them into a combined embrace and whispered into their ears, "I love you." He held them a moment while Kiki cried.

He pulled back again, moving his hands to their heads briefly. Then he stood and stepped back, grinning, his hands moving to his hips. "Welcome to the Mother Ilena Relationship Class. Princess Shirayuki and I are glad to have your company."

Shirayuki snorted a laugh into her wet pillow. Mitsuhide chuckled and Kiki smiled a slow smile that was very bright in the end. Ilena relaxed her hands and smiled a misty smile. Then she sniffed ever so softly.

Mitsuhide and Kiki heard her and looked at each other with mischievous grins that were gone by the time they were standing, though that light was still in their eyes. Still holding hands they went up to Ilena, who looked at them with some alarm. Mitsuhide leaned over her. "Ilena," he said in a warning voice, "don't move." He climbed over her to sit on the other side of her on the bed, careful of her injury.

Kiki leaned over to Ilena and said, threateningly, "It's your turn," and she climbed up on the bed next to her. They both wrapped their arms around her and each kissed a cheek. Ilena, who had been looking at them ever so scared, gave a little "oh!" and blushed bright red, her hands going to her mouth. Then she wrapped her arms around them and, with tears running down her cheeks, her smile the biggest ever, laughed. She pulled them close to her and said, "I love you." She kissed the tops of their heads, then pulled Kiki's head to her shoulder and rested her own head on Mitsuhide's. "And, I am _so_ proud of you. I also wish you the most happiness ever."

But Zen, who could see her face, saw just a shadow of sadness, and his own smile was also a little sad for her sake.

Ilena let Mitsuhide and Kiki go. "Alright you two. Off the bed, now. There's still some work to do."

As they moved to be obedient, Zen turned to Shirayuki. She was looking at him with a puzzled expression. He was about to smile at her and reach for her hand, when a thought struck him. He was about to turn to Ilena and ask her about it when again a flash of inspiration stopped him from moving his eyes from Shirayuki's eyes. Instead he put a gentle look on his face and asked, "Shirayuki, what is it?" though he was sure he knew.

"Ah!" Shirayuki looked panicked, then froze, her eyes glazed.

This was a reaction he'd seen before. He knew he couldn't release his own gaze from her. "It's Ilena, isn't it?" he said gently.

"Ah...ah…," Shirayuki gulped. "Why did you hold her hand? Why are you sad when she is sad and happy when she is happy?"

Zen smiled sadly. He was right. "Ah, what shall I do?" he asked unhappily. Kiki and Mitsuhide looked at them worriedly.

"Damn," Ilena swore very quietly. Shirayuki jumped and looked at her. "There! Hi, Princess Shirayuki!" Ilena said lightly, firmly catching her eyes with her own. "You need to be looking at me. Placing the Prince in the middle isn't fair to him."

Zen, released from the requirement to hold Shirayuki's gaze, sat down next to her on the outside edge so as to not be between the ladies. Shirayuki frowned, puzzled. "Remember, Master Zen called this the Relationship _Class_ , Princess Shirayuki. It's okay to feel what you're feeling. It is called 'jealousy'." Shirayuki's expression changed to one of enlightenment and wonder that she should even be feeling it at the moment. Ilena nodded. "You should explore that feeling. It's a very important one. Just like 'anger', it's a warning sign. When you let it function correctly, it lets you know that your relationship is in danger."

"Danger?"

"Mmm. What are you saying inside right now?"

Reluctantly, Shirayuki answered. "... How is she better than me? Why is Zen willing to do those things for her? I wish for him to do them only to me." Shirayuki turned red. "They aren't very nice things."

Ilena waved her hand. "They aren't supposed to be nice."

"Why?"

"Because sometimes the right thing to do when you feel them is to be mean."

"How...how can that be?"

"When is it right to feel anger?"

"...When there is...just cause."

"And when is it right to act in anger?"

"... When...it's important to help the other party to know that they have crossed proper boundaries."

"Mm. It's the same with jealousy. The two emotions are cousins. When you feel jealous, you should as rigorously analyze it as you would anger, and discard it from you if it doesn't meet the proper criteria for action. But not acted upon when it should be will bring harm, so you must understand how to act on it. Sometimes that means putting a competitor back in their rightful place. Sometimes it means addressing the truth underneath." Shirayuki nodded.

Ilena finally released her eyes and looked around to the rest of them to see if they were also listening. They all nodded to let her know they were. Satisfied, she looked back at Shirayuki, just a little sadly. "The first thing to ask is if the jealousy is because of a lack of trust, either in yourself or your partner, or both. Your first two comments were thus. 'How is she better than me' is 'I do not yet have confidence in myself'. 'Why is Zen willing to do those things for her' is 'I do not yet trust Zen that, romantically, he only sees me'." Still smiling sadly, she asked, "What do you do to fix those, Princess?"

As Shirayuki struggled to pass through the jealousy, through the doubt, to see clearly, Ilena leaned back against her pillow and closed her eyes, resting, but clearly troubled. Zen, worried, looked to Kiki and Mitsuhide. He knew he couldn't move.

Mitsuhide made to go over to Ilena, to be obedient to Zen, but Kiki stopped him and shook her head. "No, Mitsuhide. Let me protect you. I'll go." Mitsuhide was obedient, though he was puzzled by her words. Kiki walked over to Ilena and sat on the bed next to her. Hesitantly, she put her hand on Ilena's hand. "Ilena, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"

Ilena opened her eyes and looked at her. "Ah, thank you, yes, actually. I've been sitting up too long."

"Can we help you to lie back down?" A shake of Kiki's head kept Mitsuhide in his position still.

"I feel it will make this...class...difficult if I can't properly see everyone. So I don't know what to do." At this, the three who were present for her first 'class' went very still. They were very aware that this person knew what to do.

"Don't look," Ilena said quietly, and all three resisted the urge they felt to turn and look at Shirayuki. Then more loudly she said, "Shirayuki. What are you saying inside right now? I know they're hurtful things again. Please say them anyway."

Shirayuki pulled in a large gasp of air as if she'd been holding her breath, then closed her eyes and let the breath out. "Why does she get all the attention? She...deserves...to have...difficulty. Doesn't she know that's life? She's making extra excuses to get extra attention. ...and...Why don't I get attention? Why is it always me that's outside looking in?" Now they did look at her, and tears were standing in her eyes.

"And were you arguing with yourself also?"

"Yes."

"And was it working?"

"No," Shirayuki admitted miserably.

"This is another important clue, Shirayuki. If you can't find the argument that makes the feeling go away, there's a truth that must be addressed head on, or the relationship will fracture. I'm sure you had all valid arguments that _should_ have made the feelings go away. The point is that they _didn't_ , they weren't sufficient to address the truth. The truth is pointed at by statements you've heard within you both the first time and this. I will say them again for you. See if you can hear the true cause of the jealousy in the words." The sadness was now heavy upon Ilena. " 'I wish for him to do them only to me.' …. 'Why don't I get attention?' …. 'Why is it always me that's outside looking in?' "

Zen, hearing them put together in this manner felt his heart clench with guilt. Mitsuhide and Kiki became sad, like Ilena.

Shirayuki went red, not sure what she was feeling any more, but feeling very full of whatever it was.

"Shirayuki," Ilena called gently. Shirayuki shook herself and looked at Ilena. "Say them again, but turn you and say them to Master Zen." Shirayuki started and shook her head once. Ilena became cold steel. "Did I not say to you, 'the truth must be addressed head on, or the relationship will fracture'? Do you care so little for your relationship with Prince Zen? ...Am I wasting my time?" Ilena's mouth curled just a little in rejection. Shirayuki stiffened. _Sigh. I hope I don't have to keep pushing her like this all the time. It really isn't good for her_ , Ilena thought. _And if Obi heard me say those things, I would be in trouble again._ Zen was already glaring at her.

Shirayuki turned to Zen, in a kneeling position, her hands on her knees in fists. "Zen," he was looking at her full on, ready to accept her words. "I wish for you to see me. I wish for you to be with me. I wish to be with you where you are so that I may hear what you hear and understand what you understand."

Zen looked at her sadly now as well. His hand reached up and brushed the hair back from her cheek. "You've said these things to me before." His hand lingered for a moment, then fell. "But they aren't the things to say now. They aren't the words you need to hear from your lips. Please, say the other words."

Shirayuki became impatient. "They're different!?"

Zen took a breath. He really hated being on the other side of her anger, but he agreed that the relationship was too precious to flinch away. "Yes, Shirayuki, but you must hear them to understand. Please."

Shirayuki clenched a fist, closing her eyes briefly. Then she angrily said the words. "I don't like it when you look at Ilena with eyes like that. I don't like it that you touched her. I don't like that I feel this way because that was only one thing, where I should be very happy that you've held me more today than any other day. But, why, Zen? Why don't you hold me? Why don't I see you enough to have you look at me that way? If we're to live the goal now to have the goal later, why are we never together? It makes me angry enough to want to say: if we can't, or won't, be together now, then why is it worth the effort? Should we not stop now?"

Zen reached for her, his eyes wide with alarm. But surely she won't let him touch her now…

"Zen! Follow the instinct!" Ilena called. "Quickly!"

Zen shook himself once, then feeling like he was throwing all caution to the wind, he reached out quickly and wrapped both arms around Shirayuki, holding her, calling her name over and over. Each time he called her name, he felt her relax a little more and a little more.

"Don't relax, Zen. She must feel your determination."

He nodded, but it was hard, he wanted to relax with her. He had to call her name several more times before she was limp in his arms, crying desolately. He quickly shifted to rest against the wall, pulling her with him to sit before him and lean against his chest, her legs curled up along the wall. His hand raised and he looked at it, wondering what it was doing.

Ilena sighed. "Zen. What did she just ask for? You restrain yourself far too much. It has already damaged your beloved Princess enough." Ilena turned away from him and said to Kiki tiredly, "Please, will you allow Mister Mitsuhide to help you assist me in lying down. I can no longer bear it." They helped her, then Kiki asked her what solution she had to being able to see them in the room. Ilena smiled in acknowledgement. "If you lift up my left side, supporting the hip as best you can, and put the pillows that were behind my back again behind me to support my back, hip, and legs, then I'll be resting partially on my right side and may see into the room, though you two should move to lean against the opposite bed. Then I'll be able to see all of you."

At Ilena's rebuking words to him, Zen had many angry thoughts that he cast away, recognizing they rose from his feelings of guilt, and some were things to address specifically with Ilena, not Shirayuki. He leaned his head down to Shirayuki's ear, cradling her head gently in his arms. "I'm sorry, Shirayuki. I'm so sorry." He placed his forehead upon hers and breathed gently on her face, thinking of what it was he needed to say.

"Shirayuki, as a Prince, I must hold myself apart. I've learned to do this with strictness. But in order to love you, in order to have you truly stand by my side, I must bring you to be 'apart' _with_ me. In other words, I must 'make a space for you and hold out my hand and welcome you into it'. Now I understand more fully what these words mean. But I was also told that I should do it 'whenever she chooses to enter it, in whatever capacity she has reached'. ... I think...perhaps Ilena was warning me, that just like I would have to learn to not keep myself separate from you, that you would also have to learn to come to me. In other words, such a thing must be struggled with and resolved from both sides. ... Maybe, she was seeing a thing in me I didn't know existed?"

Zen hid his face in her red hair. "I too, since she scolded me just now, have been fighting with anger and my reasons don't banish it." He paused for a moment, trying to fight through to the 'truth' inside it. Shirayuki, who had grasped onto the front of his shirt when he'd placed them in this position, had gone still to listen to him when he began to talk, wanting him to give her words of solution that would relieve the burden she felt. When he admitted to feeling the same as she had, she opened her eyes. When he lifted his head to talk with her again, she also lifted her eyes to look into his seriously. "Shirayuki," he broke off abruptly. "No, this isn't right. Please, will you sit up to listen to me?"

Shirayuki scrambled upright again and sat facing him. Remembering the pain her words had given him, he took her hand and smiled a wry, sad smile at her. "Shirayuki, I feel like you love your work as a pharmacist more than you love me. Even to go so far as to smile as you left for two years - a very, very long time it seemed to me. Even then I felt angry; even though I 'argued with myself' and found no relief, I wouldn't face it. Well, you were gone, my brother had sent you, and there was, it seemed, nothing that could be done." Zen paused, his thumb absently rubbing the back of Shirayuki's hand.

"While I can't fight against my brother, I felt ...betrayed... that you would submit humbly to him rather than fight to stand by my side even then. 'Did you love him more than me?' I thought on that occasion. Whether or not he may have had the best idea for how to help you on your goal, I felt ...jealous... that you didn't trust me enough to choose to stay with me and let me try to do my best. You have many valuable traits I desire and love, however you have one that I have come to d-de...detest," he closed his eyes and squeezed her hand slightly, then took a breath and continued, looking her in the eyes and smiling the small smile again.

"Shirayuki, you are far too obedient." A muscle in his jaw twitched. "You have the stubbornness in you that won't let you be pushed beyond where you wish to be. But I wish that you would learn to have the stubbornness and awareness to not be pushed beyond where _I_ wish for you to be." Zen stopped and took another breath. "If you wish to stand beside me, then _come_ and stand beside me. If you don't wish to be away from me, then _choose_ to not be away. If one asks you to obediently go away from me, turn to hear _my_ word and be obedient to only _me_. Go only when I say go, come when I say come. Trust me to not say either amiss." Zen stopped. He had said what he needed to say.

Shirayuki sat quietly, her hands resting loosely in her lap and in Zen's hand, thinking over Zen's words. "I'm sorry, Zen, that I didn't understand. That I didn't have sufficient awareness of myself. While I do love being able to help people as a pharmacist, when I realized that I must give lesser effort to that dream to have the greater dream, I thought to myself, 'It's a small thing to give up'." She reached up with the hand he wasn't holding and timidly put it to his face. "I love Zen." She dropped her hand and Zen caught it with his other hand. "If I'm overly obedient, then I would like to learn to be properly obedient to Zen first. If Zen, if you, are going to open a space for me, then I want to learn to run into it. If you say _I_ may choose to stand by you, then I want to be able to choose it always." Shirayuki looked down at her hands being held by Zen.

Ilena narrowed her eyes. There was still one thing lacking and it wasn't going to be easy.

Zen was looking relieved, but the longer Shirayuki looked down, the more uneasy he became. Finally he said, "Shirayuki. What is it? What more do you want to say?"

Shirayuki looked up at him and misery was in her face. "To be able to learn these things, I've decided to learn them from Ilena. But right now I can't." Zen held her hands tighter. "I wish to learn to trust me, and I wish to learn to trust you, but because I don't understand your relationship with her, or hers with you, my heart will not rest, though I ask it to because I do believe in you."

Ilena let out a silent sigh. There it was. Even she was going to have to trust Zen here because what she would do was likely far different from what he wanted.

Kiki shifted and looked at Mitsuhide. He looked back quizzically. She looked at Zen, and said softly, "Excuse me please, Zen, Shirayuki. I'm sorry to interrupt, but may I offer a possibility?" Zen looked at Kiki and nodded. "You could have Shirayuki speak with Obi." She glanced at Mitsuhide. "He's said some things to Mitsuhide and I that have...made this chaotic evening more easy to understand, made Ilena more comprehensible. Maybe if Obi says these things to Shirayuki, she'll also be able to understand sufficiently until Zen is free to say more." Kiki fell silent, and Mitsuhide pressed her hand, then shyly wrapped his arm around her and hugged her - a reward for having the courage to help Zen.

Shirayuki looked dismayed. "I'm sorry, Zen, that I've asked you for a thing that you aren't free to say."

Zen smiled at her. "You haven't asked amiss. It's a need of your heart, and when I may, I'll tell you of it gladly." He glanced up at his other friends, "All of you. Obi, too." Zen thought about it, then said, "If Obi has said something that has helped Kiki and Mitsuhide, then it may likely help Shirayuki as well. Will you accept that for now, Shirayuki? To hear the thing Obi has to say? If it doesn't help you, then I don't know what to do, but maybe all of us together may find a way to flexibly find another solution." His eyes plead with her. "I do wish for you to trust Ilena."

Shirayuki took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll speak with Obi."

Ilena let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "I have a flexible solution for that, too," she said dryly. They looked at her questioningly. "I'm going to be unconscious for the next week or two. There should be plenty of time to talk to Obi before you have to see my face again." *Ppffft!* *Hah!* Snorts of laughter rang out, breaking the tension.

Zen, finally seeing Shirayuki smile again, also smiled at her, then took her in his arms and held her a long moment. Then, very quietly, he whispered in Shirayuki's ear, "I love you, Princess Shirayuki." She was startled, then she started laughing and crying at the same time, and held on to him even tighter. Zen smiled, pleased.

"Your homework, all of you, while I'm gone is to practice doing those things you've promised each other you would work on. I apologize for the interruption in your studies, but I hope when I return that I'll be pleased to see remarkable progress, and ecstatic delight in the eyes of Obi at the things you've done here today."

"Has Obi been sad?" Shirayuki asked the question they were all thinking.

"Arah, all of you!" Ilena was exasperated. "With all of you feeling like that, what you were before just now, how could he not? The poor man has been carrying all of you on his shoulders for how many months now! If I've done nothing else good here in this castle, I should die happy tomorrow knowing I've removed some of the burden from his shoulders...no, much of it."

Kiki said casually, "Ilena, if you die, that should be an even greater burden upon his shoulders, don't you think?"

Zen said carefully, "Ilena,..." But Shirayuki put her hand to his mouth to stop him.

"Let me protect you, Zen." Turning to Ilena, she said, "Ilena, you will live, because now there are people in this castle who love you."

Ilena smiled a bit of a watery smile at Shirayuki. "Thank you, Princess Shirayuki. I'm glad you are able to learn from others around you. Miss Kiki's example has helped you, it seems, after all."

Shirayuki accepted the complement shyly, and Mitsuhide said, "Ah, Kiki, I think that counts as two points to you, and therefore to our team."

"Yes," responded Kiki, "and I think that it counts as another overall win as well."

Ilena clapped her hands once, "Well, then, class dismissed. For the next class, Miss Kiki will be your substitute teacher and it will be part two of verbal fencing. Miss Shirayuki, who is one class behind, and a beginner, and Mr. Mitsuhide are required to attend. Prince Zen's attendance would be a bonus. Miss Kiki, if you require an assistant, I believe Obi will be an available, and lively, option, as well as surprisingly skilled. I would like a report of the proceedings delivered when it's completed. Do not hesitate to assign homework."

Every one but Kiki groaned. Kiki laughed.

"Yes, Professor!"

"Now, get out...please. I've got a busy day tomorrow, and you have worn me out."

* * *

 _Okay. It's sappy and sooo NOT cannon. But I need it for the story, and, like everyone else, can't stand the slow pace and angst of the original work. Please forgive._


	20. The Experimental Surgery

_**Thank** **you** to all my readers. Double the number this month as last month! I'm feeling so happy! :D I hope you can continue to enjoy the story with me. We are now fully into the story at this point. Corkscrew is done, here's the next approach, and the next scary drop can be seen at the end. There is a tease chapter in the middle (up next) for the reader, but in it Obi suddenly gets to see the gaping hole ahead of him, that is about to swallow him up. (Are we headed for a tunnel?) First is one of the tender moments OxS. Please enjoy!_

 _(As a side note, I just put out a one-shot for Akatsuki no Yona, "The Gift of Family", if anyone wants to go see...pretty please?)_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 20 The Experimental Surgery**

As Mitsuhide and Kiki escorted Zen and Shirayuki away from Ilena's new room, they ran into Obi coming from the office. He had just finished the work he'd needed to do to be prepared to leave the next day. Zen asked him to escort Shirayuki to her room before going to see Ilena, and, after saying goodnight to her, left with Mitsuhide and Kiki.

As Obi and Shirayuki walked to the aide's quarters, Shirayuki explained to Obi that she was having difficulty understanding Ilena, and that Ilena's relationship with Zen was causing her some confusion that was interfering with her ability to effectively reach her goal. "Kiki suggested that there might be a thing that you could tell me that would help me understand. Zen said that it would be okay."

"Eh?! Master did?" Obi had wondered if there were some ulterior motive to Master not walking Shirayuki to her room.

Shirayuki nodded. "He said if what Obi said helped Mitsuhide and Kiki understand Ilena, then I could hear it, too, and maybe it would help. I understand already that Zen can't say it himself."

Obi considered. "It would be perhaps easiest if I showed you. There's a thing in my room I will fetch, if you'll wait for me."

Shirayuki agreed.

"What brought this on?" Obi asked, curious.

Shirayuki wasn't sure she wanted to tell Obi very much, and she could feel her face turning red. Then she remembered that Ilena had said that their relationship difficulties had been a burden on Obi. "Before I arrived at Ilena's room, something happened that I don't understand to make Mitsuhide and Kiki accept Ilena. After I came, she helped them reach the point where Kiki proposed to Mitsuhide, he accepted her, and Zen gave them his permission."

Obi was flabbergasted. "All in one evening?!"

Shirayuki nodded. "It was very touching."

Obi looked closely at her face. "Is this why your eyes are red?"

"It's part of it," she admitted.

"There's more?" he asked incredulously.

Shirayuki blushed even harder.

"She said things to you and Master, too?" Obi guessed shrewdly.

She nodded. "She explained to me why we feel jealousy and what to do to address it. In particular, she said that to not address the truths behind it damages our relationship. She had me say things to Zen that he was able to answer, and he said things to me that I was able to answer to. ...Needing to understand their relationship is one of them."

"I see," he said slowly, mulling it over. "So, after you understand it, will Master and Mistress be able to look at each other with clear eyes again?"

"Yes," Shirayuki answered.

"Well, then, I will do my best." They entered their wing. "If you'll wait for me here," he indicated one of the chairs along the perimeter of the entry hall, "I'll be back shortly."

Shirayuki obediently sat and waited. He brought out the Selicia history book and sat beside her. "The Clarines history proves the story better, but Master still has that book. Perhaps he'll let you read it." She nodded understanding, and he flipped to the pages that told about the Second Princess of Clarines marrying the Third Prince of Selicia. He showed her the section to read. When she was done he had her skip to the section about the coup.

Then he said, "The Clarines history says that the Prince and Princess were found on Clarines soil, beheaded. Ilena doesn't know this, and it's Master's to tell her." Shirayuki's eyes were round. It was a terrible thing to hear, but she didn't understand why he would give her that caution. "It also says that the little princess wasn't found with them." He flipped to the back with the family genealogy that contained the same Prince and Princess and showed it to her. "Read the names of the children."

Shirayuki read across the page. Like him, she stopped at the little princess and drew in a breath. The child obviously Selician, the name so like Ilena's, one of her parents an heiress of Clarines. Her eyes were very wide as she finally looked up at Obi. "Ilena is...her?"

Obi nodded. "Mitsuhide and Kiki already had evidence from following Master the same day I found these histories. All of us are in agreement, Ilena is this princess, alive. But until Master has the approval of King Brother, he may not speak of it. We'll support him in this thing. He wishes to keep her by his side because of what she's done for him already, and because she also wishes it. If he can't learn to properly use her, she won't be allowed to stay and her dreams will be crushed under the weight of her station."

Shirayuki took a moment to let it all sink in and correlate it to what she already knew. "She is very much like King Izana, like the Wisterias. Knowing why helps. Also, it helps to understand why she can't be placed as anything less than a Minister if she hopes to stay beside Zen." She looked back at the picture of the little princess. "And, she is family. That is why Zen loves her and is tender towards her. She has no one else, and he has only known his older brother."

Obi nodded. "And, because she is a Princess, there's no one better for Master to trust with your training to become one yourself."

Shirayuki hadn't considered that, and looked up in surprise. "Yes, that's true. But it does make me wonder...how can I expect her to stand behind me?"

"Hasn't she already said? She will make you into someone she can stand behind." Obi looked a little rueful. "She _is_ a Wisteria. Though she's kinder than King Brother and Queen Mother, she's still as ruthless. If you can't be someone she can stand behind and that can stand next to Zen, she'll cast you away. The fact that she's already working with you is good, Mistress. It would be good if you can continue to stand before her."

Shirayuki paled, then nodded resolutely. She wasn't going to give up, and she already knew Ilena wouldn't be the first one to give up either. "I'll trust her." She stood up and handed to book back to Obi. "Thank you Obi, for explaining it to me." Obi nodded and watched as she climbed the stairs to her room and entered it.

-o-o-o-

As Obi walked to Ilena's room, he wondered at what she'd done, all in one evening. He wished he could have been there to see it, but it was enough to lighten the burden on his heart to just know it had happened. Things wouldn't be easy for Mitsuhide and Kiki, but now they were able to move forward. It was the same for Zen and Shirayuki. Shirayuki now understood what she was to do, and the difficulties between them had likely been resolved. He would be able to leave on the morrow with only Ilena to worry his mind, and that was a large enough burden at the moment. Indeed, it felt like she'd stepped in to support him as best she could. He was grateful...but at the same time he wondered if he should be worried. She was not tactful, and still not properly trained.

As he opened the door and stepped in, he wondered if she would still be awake after all the excitement she'd had, from the bath in the morning until now. He decided it would be okay if she was sleeping. She surely needed it - particularly if she was going to be ready for the next day.

-o-o-o-

Ilena came suddenly awake. She was sure her internal clock was telling her it was time for Obi to be arriving at his usual time, but her ears told her he was already there.

"Ah, you've woken up?" he asked her.

"When did you come? Did you come early again?" She felt bad she hadn't been awake for him.

"I haven't been here too long. I'm glad you were resting. ...I met Mistress on the way here and Master had me walk her to her room. It sounds like you've had a very busy day." He lit the candle and walked over to the bed to look down at her.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to be awake when you came."

He shook his head. "You need to rest to be prepared for tomorrow."

"I'll have no choice but to sleep for the next week anyway. ...And rest for the following five," she said.

He grinned at her, "True." He looked at her for a moment. "You've been busy being Mother when I'm not here to watch you, again." She couldn't look him in the eye. "Thank you." Her eyes snapped to him in surprise. "Because of what you've done, I can leave here tomorrow with only one worry to carry with me."

"I'm glad," she said softly, "though I would take that burden from you also, if I could."

He shook his head. "It's enough."

She looked at him, then thought of the instructions she'd wanted to give him that night. "Grandfather told you last night to go to the Glass Bottle tomorrow, but you need to know what to do when you get there." Obi nodded once to indicate he was listening. "The sign of the tavern is a green glass wine bottle with a wine glass next to it. It's fairly close to the castle, so the owners wanted to draw the upper level customers to it. You should dress appropriately." She watched to see he understood her meaning. When he sighed dispiritedly, she knew he had. She smiled slightly.

"When you ask to be seated, tell the owner, or his wife, that you're taking a trip and were hoping for a travel guide, or to talk to someone who'd been to the place you're going. Take that person with you and be obedient to them, and your way will be made smooth."

Obi nodded. He wasn't surprised to hear he would have a translator and guide again. "I wish it could be Thayne again," he said, thinking of the young man he'd gotten along with so well.

Ilena looked at him thoughtfully. "Obi, do you desire him as your man-at-arms?"

"I'm not in such a position as to have one of those," he deprecated.

"If you were? Would you accept him?"

He looked at her speculatively. "Why do you ask?"

She paused, putting her thoughts in order. "Obi, if you want him, bring him back here. You may set him to watch over me when you can't be present with me. When I can't go where you go, I'll send him to watch over you in my stead."

He blinked at her. "You are saying to use him, as Master has used me?"

She nodded. "Until I can stand beside you, let him stand in our stead."

He cocked his head. It was a comforting idea. "I'll ask Master." She nodded. It was the best he could answer. He looked at her and could see the shadow of sorrow upon her. "What's wrong, Ilena?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing to worry Obi about," she said, but she couldn't look at him again.

"It's not nothing." She closed her eyes and wouldn't say it. He reached out and put his hand on the top of her head, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. She was stunned. He pulled away, surprised his body had acted on its own again, afraid he'd offended her, remembering she was a princess, "Ah, I didn't.…"

She put the back of her hand to her mouth and began to cry. "That was very mean, Obi. To do that when you hate me."

"Hate you?" Obi blinked. _Is that the face I've shown her?_ Obi slowly lifted his hand and, sitting on the bed next to her, lifted her and held her head to his shoulder. He didn't know what had caused him to act like this, but as he held her he realized that he desired to protect her like this, not just now, but always. To return to her what she'd always given to him. As he came to this seemingly surprising realization, his other hand came up around her as well. He held her close, finally feeling her warmth, smelling her scent, for the first time in a very long time. "Ilena…, I do not hate you."

When her storm had finally passed, he gently lay her back down and released her, then handed her a handkerchief. She thanked him and cleaned her face. Then she reached up hesitantly, and when he didn't move, lightly brushed the side of his face with her hand, her fingertips going through his hair, her eyes looking at him still a little sad, a little hungry. Then she let go and said with a regretful smile, "I love you, Obi."

It was the first time she'd said it when awake, and using his current name. He realized instantly and sharply that it isn't what he'd been waiting for weeks to hear. He quickly grabbed her hand before it could fall completely to the bed and, shaking his head, said, "No. Say it again, but say the name you used to call."

Her breath stopped and she went wide eyed. Whispering to herself, she said, "Oh, that isn't fair at all. What shall I do?" and tears threatened again. She could see he was serious but it wouldn't last long. As the tears dropped again, she said, "I love you, Wellesly," and it sounded like her heart had broken. She turned away from him, closed her eyes and wouldn't look at him again.

He stood, blew out the candle, and took himself out of the room. He knew she wouldn't rest easily this night if he stayed now. He would come back after she was asleep again. He needed Master.

-o-o-o-

Zen had just blown out his own candle when Obi entered, announcing himself from the door when he found no lights on. He didn't want his Master to run him through with his sword as a night intruder. Zen frowned. Obi didn't sound right. He sighed and reached over to the nightstand and relit the candle. "What's the matter, Obi?"

It was indeed a sad Obi standing at the door. "I don't understand myself again," Obi said to the floor. "Ilena gave me many gifts today, and in the end, I hurt her."

"You've left her to come here?"

Obi nodded, but didn't look up. "She wouldn't look at me. I'll let her fall asleep before returning."

Zen sighed. "That may be, but if you leave it like that tonight, there won't be an opportunity to repair it before you leave tomorrow."

If anything Obi looked even more sad. Zen sighed. "Come here Obi." He pointed to a spot on the bed in front of him. Obi's eyes went wide. He was usually never allowed on Zen's bed. "Just this once, Obi," Zen clarified. He really didn't want to have to pull him forcefully out of a tree again just before he was supposed to go on an important errand.

Obi walked over and carefully climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged in front of his Master, still not able to look up at him.

"Tell me." Zen ordered.

Obi told him everything. Zen sighed. "You told her that you don't hate her, and then you made her call you by a name you refuse to acknowledge is your own. Are you really so afraid to let her love you, Obi? ...She scolded us, me and Shirayuki, and Mitsuhide and Kiki, for being a weight upon your shoulders. Yet you place that same burden upon her and upon us."

Obi hung his head lower. "I don't know what to do. She isn't mine to have."

Zen felt a bit of impatience. "Why is it you believe that?"

Obi thought about that for a moment. There were many reasons that came to mind, but he discarded most of them knowing Zen would find against them, then gave up. "Help me to understand it." Zen nodded. Obi took a breath. "Because she's a Princess."

"That Princess claimed you long ago, and she'll make you one who can stand beside her, the same as she'll make Shirayuki someone she can stand behind."

Obi found the thought as disturbing as Shirayuki had, but ...it wasn't the reason. "Because she is Master's and King Brother's."

"And I've said she'll stand with me, with Obi at her side. I've also told you my brother wishes to see her stand at my side. He won't remove her without great reason."

It comforted Obi to hear his Master sound so confident. He didn't understand the King so well, so this had worried him. But if Master was sure, he would trust him.

"I don't understand why she wants me."

"What is it you don't trust about her yet?"

Obi shook his head, rejecting that the fault was in her. "I don't understand why she would choose me."

"Obi," Zen said slowly, "Ilena has said that she's watched over you since she chose you. It's in her nature to constantly watch and weigh those around her, particularly those who she desires to have close to her. Have you understood this about her?" Obi nodded. "Even after all these years of watching you, she said she still will choose you. If in all the things you've tested her in, you've only found reason to trust her, then trust her in this thing also."

Zen waited. He wasn't sure there was anything else he could say to the man in front of him. After a time Obi nodded and Zen was relieved.

"Master, ...she's perfect for me. I can't not want her."

Zen lifted a knee and rested his elbow on it, putting his chin in his hand. "Is that a problem for you? That she's worked so hard to be something that you would want to have and keep?"

"Worked so hard…?" Obi looked up at him finally in surprise.

Zen nodded. "In watching you, she's seen what it is you need to have in your partner, and she's worked hard to be that, all so that she may become Obi's partner. Is this a problem?"

Obi felt there was something underlying his Master's question. After a few false starts as he tried to wrap his brain around the concept, he finally shook his head. Perhaps the only problem would be in his own insanity to not accept her.

"Obi, remember at the first dinner we had with them, she said to me that the goal for Shirayuki and I was that by the time Shirayuki's lessons were over, I would know because she would be perfectly everything I needed. I wouldn't be able to refuse her, nor would anyone be able to deny me." Obi nodded, hearing the thing he had been waiting to understand. "Ilena has already done this work for you." Obi nodded slowly. "If there's a thing that you need or expect, and she doesn't have it yet, it's your responsibility to teach it to her, now that she's come this far and you understand it. It's the same as Shirayuki asking me to consider what it is I want and tell it to her."

Obi considered that. "There is the matter you've set me to. She must be able to always come to Master's call."

Zen nodded. "That's reasonable. I think she's able to answer to Obi already, so Obi will best be able to teach her to answer to me." When it seemed that Obi couldn't come up with another thing, he asked, "Obi, do you love Ilena?"

Hesitantly, Obi answered. "I am...coming to. She's my partner. I want to protect her. I want to see everything she has to show me. I want to hold her tightly and not let her go. It would hurt very much if she were taken from me if I were to take one more step on that path."

"Then that's what holds you back and makes you push against her. Do you trust what I've said, that I will protect her, and you, in the position I've set for her?" Obi nodded. Zen thought a moment more. "Are you afraid you'll lose her tomorrow? That the experimental surgery will take her from you?"

Obi felt it like a knife. Zen could see it in his face even as he nodded.

"Haahhh." Zen was not sure what to do. He couldn't promise Obi protection from that fear. "Then you must go back to her and explain it to her. Already you'll be here to see her through it. But, Obi, I can't let you stay until she's recovered. I need you to go by tomorrow evening."

Obi nodded, but he felt the fear in his throat. He understood that he wanted to stay, and stay with her. "May I stay with her when I return until she's recovered?"

Zen paused, then answered, "Yes. She's your partner."

Obi felt some relief. Then the disquiet that remained spoke to him. "Ilena said a thing tonight..." Zen nodded, indicating he would hear it. "I rode with Thayne at my side once I'd recovered him. She said I could have him if I wanted it. That if I brought him from the safe house, I could have him to watch over her when I couldn't be present, and when she couldn't be by my side, she could send him to stand in her place. Like what Obi has done for Master. I said I would ask you. ...Could I fetch him tomorrow after the surgery and she is past the lucid stage of the Little Death, to have him stay with her, then leave on my errand?" He held his breath against the hope of his hurting heart.

Zen considered it. She'd only asked that the witnesses be kept safe. If Thayne was watching over her from here in the castle, he would be as safe as she was. Perhaps that was why she'd allowed it. It was also likely that it was because he wasn't in much danger, being part of the first list. Ah, but if he allowed it, it was likely Kiki would want to have Tairn's younger brother also. She'd received word from her father that as soon as the Lord's Court was done, he would take her home with him. That would mean she would leave before Dane would be able to come and be trained by her.

"You may have him, but tell her that I require Dane Malkin as payment. You must bring him, too."

Obi's relief was very evident. "Yes, Master," he said, and bowed from his sitting position. "May I kiss you now?"

"No!" Zen kicked him off the bed. He knew Obi was feeling better now, but that didn't mean he would put up with the teasing. "Get to Ilena. Give her the kiss - she's the one that wants it."

"Ah," Obi said a little sadly as he turned to go to the door. "That's what started it."

"Then what's wrong with ending it that way, too?" Zen said with a sigh as Obi opened the door.

Obi didn't answer, but before he closed the door he did say, "Thank you, Master."

-o-o-o-

Obi decided that he'd have to wake Ilena up if she was asleep, though he didn't really want to. But when he opened the door, he knew she was waiting, though he didn't know why. He walked in silence to the candle and relit it, then turned to look at her. Her eyes were closed against the light, but when he remained quiet, she slowly opened her eyes and lifted them to look for him. They were rather red still, and his heart hurt to see it.

"I'm sorry, Ilena." He didn't move, only spoke quietly. She blinked at him, but didn't say anything. "I won't ask such a thing from you again." Her eyes lowered as she looked away. She looked very weary.

"Ilena, I've come from speaking with Master." She closed her eyes, but nodded slightly to indicate she was listening. "He's corrected me and helped me to understand my error." He moved up to stand closer to her. After a moment she opened her eyes to look at him again. "I'm afraid." One of her eyebrows went up momentarily. He took a breath. "You tried to help me with it by offering Thayne, but I didn't recognize my need at that time. Master has said that I may fetch him tomorrow afternoon, after I speak with you again. I'll leave him with you in my stead until I return. Then I'll stay with you until you're recovered sufficiently. Master's payment is that I must also bring Dane Malkin with me so that Miss Kiki has the time to train him before she must return with her father." Ilena nodded, accepting the bargain. "Ilena," his eyes held hurt and pleading, "please, stay well."

"Obi," she finally spoke, "will you please hold my hand tomorrow, so that I'll know you're with me when I fall asleep and when I reawaken?"

"I will," Obi promised.

She closed her eyes, content, and began to relax into sleep. Obi looked at her for a while longer in the light, then blew the candle out. He paused a moment, then before he lost his nerve, he quickly stepped up to her, found her, and bent down to kiss her forehead again. Her arms snaked around him, holding him to her. He was surprised for a moment, then she whispered, "Obi. Keep me company tonight. Even for just a little while. I don't want to let you go, either."

He paused for a moment, but his heart, as usual with her, could not be denied. He carefully lay next to her and held her. "Live, Mother. Live for me."

She turned her head into his chest, "I'll do my best, Father. Come back to me quickly."

"I will." As she finally slipped into sleep, he lay his cheek against the top of her head and slowly drifted into sleep himself, thinking as he did so that he was glad she'd asked. He didn't think he would have been able to sleep at all any place else that night, even in the next bed over.

-o-o-o-

It was very noisy. Obi grumpily opened his eyes. "What is it?" he frowned.

"Mmmm," said the sleepy voice of Ilena, tucked down somewhere at chest level, "Marcus and Henry have finally decided to admit they know where I've been being kept, but the guards aren't willing to admit they're right. So they're devolving into an argument."

"Heeh!?" He was still trying to wake up enough to comprehend what she'd said. "...the runners from the Black Cat?"

"Did you meet them there?"

"Um-hm. I had them collect the four sets in town for me. Why are they here?"

"I sent for them. They're working hard for me." Ilena yawned. "Someone like me isn't supposed to have favorites, but somehow those two have managed to worm their way into that position. It really means they get worked twice as hard as everyone else, but they keep asking for it."

Obi smiled. "Well, I could put them to work this morning. Shall I let them in?"

She snuggled in closer. "Do we have to?"

He kissed the top of her head. "Good morning, Mother. It's time to get up. How much time do we have until Leah and Rio get here?"

She sighed in resignation. "Good morning, Father. Not long, it's true."

"Well, I don't want to get into trouble with them," he carefully disentangled himself and slipped off the bed, their hands separating last, as he yawned and headed for the door.

He opened the door while scratching his head. "You kids sure are noisy for this early in the morning." he said.

They'd hopped into formal attention when the door had opened, but now Marcus grinned a sly grin. "That's because Grandfather said you'd be with Mother, and we know how hard it is to wake you up in the morning."

Obi growled at them. "Don't tease the guards just to get what you want."

"We're sorry," they properly apologized to the guards.

"You can let them in when they come," Obi told the guards. "They're hers. Just trip them when they go through the door if they keep giving you trouble."

"Hey!" the young men exclaimed in protest. "We said we're sorry!"

"Besides," added Marcus, "we're here before our shift starts, but we've got to get there soon. We were getting pretty desperate."

"Mmm? Well, your shift is starting now," Obi informed them. "If you're late tell them Obi kept you."

"Okay!" They grinned at him.

"Are you going to let Scamp and Scoundrel in or not?" Ilena's slightly grumpy voice came from behind Obi.

Their eyes lit up and Obi got out of their way. They dashed through the door, Marcus letting Henry through first. "Mother!"

As Obi turned to re-enter the room he said, "Ah, Hue, I'll need you in a bit, too."

"Yes, Sir," Hue answered. Then he grinned. "Miss Ilena certainly has a lively family. Just like her."

"Yes, she does," Obi yawned again. "They also won't let me sleep - any of them."

He went in and closed the door. While the pages talked to Ilena he washed up and tried to finish waking up.

When he reappeared at her bedside, Henry said to him, in an aside, "It's a good thing we got here first. Miss Leah would have had your ear for a trophy if she'd come in and saw where you'd been sleeping all night."

"How would you know?" Obi asked. "Has she caught you before?"

He nodded. "I just managed to slip in through my window before she came up one morning, but she took one look at a my bed and knew I'd been out all night. I took the liberty of mussing yours up." He winked at Obi.

Obi shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered. This night was different."

Henry looked at him questioningly, but Obi didn't expound.

"Ilena, we're going to move you, bed and all. Then I'll chase these two out and we'll get you ready for your day." Obi informed her.

"Did you see they brought me flowers?" Ilena asked him.

"Yes," he smiled down at her. "But they'd better bring more in four days. I don't want to see dead flowers on the desk when I get back, nor should you when you're finally awake enough to enjoy them." He looked out of the corner of his eye at them. They'd understood him. "Did you want to let Grandfather know about the new additions coming this afternoon?" he asked her.

"That would be a good thing to do. Boys, let Grandfather know that Thayne and Dane will be brought here to the castle this afternoon. Thayne will be with me for Obi's sake. Master has asked for Dane."

"Yes, Mother," they chorused.

"Okay, boys. Each of you take a corner of the bed." Obi instructed as he headed for the door. He opened it and asked Hue to come in and take another corner, then he took the fourth.

On the count of three, they lifted the bed and moved it to be slightly right of center of the available space in the room. This was so that there would be plenty of room for Doctor Elliot to work on Ilena's left side, and still allow room for the assistants to move around her. When he was happy with the placement of the bed, Obi sent them all away, quietly telling Marcus to let Leah and Rio know to give him another three-quarters of an hour before they came. He said the same to the guards, asking that they not let even Shirayuki in until the time had passed. Then he closed the door and returned to Ilena.

"Ok. Let's get you ready for your day."

"You're going to do it?" Ilena asked.

"I was doing it before. I've been jealous that they won't let me do it now that we're back in the castle." He said it because of what Shirayuki had told him yesterday and so that he could see if she had a reaction. She did, though he didn't let on he'd seen it. When she wasn't on guard and watching for it, she was actually fun to tease. He took his time and was careful to give her the full attention he would have given her before, but this time, he also took the opportunity to watch her. Some things he thought would make her blush she took with normal dignity, and others that he wouldn't have thought could affect anyone made her squirm with embarrassment. He decided that learning everything about her was indeed an interesting past time. But, even though he was enjoying himself at her expense, he was not light hearted about it. It felt more like he was trying to learn everything he could in the last little bit of time he had with her, so that it could be etched into his memory.

When he was done cleaning her and changing her bedclothes, he sat her up in the bed, then stuck his head out the door. Good, the breakfast cart had come. He pulled it into the room and got ready to feed Ilena. They'd sent a very light meal for her, as she would soon be entering the hibernative state, but Shirayuki hadn't wanted her to start the day with nothing in her because of the loss of weight she'd already sustained. It would be another four days, they expected, before she would really eat again.

"Hah," Ilena sighed. "I finally get to sit up to eat, and it's even less of a meal than all the others were."

Obi smiled at her in sad agreement. "Yes. It's true." He looked over the food that had come for him. "They gave me an orange. Would you like it?"

Ilena's eyes lit up. "Could I, please?"

He handed her the bowl and spoon and told her to keep eating, as she could now at least feed herself some. Then he picked up the orange and began to peel it. "You seem to enjoy oranges quite a bit."

"They are very similar to a fruit from Selicia, though it's more sweet, a little less tart, there. It was always my favorite. The older I get the more I appreciate the tartness of the oranges, though."

"Say, 'ah'," he said, holding out an orange section. Feeding her didn't make her blush, like it would have most other women. Rather, it made her turn into a little girl again, holding her mouth open in excited expectation, then closing her eyes to chew happily on the flavorful fruit. He wondered if it was common for the royal youth of Selicia to be hand fed, but he didn't ask. He didn't want to make her remember things that might make her sad today. For every five bites of the porridge she ate, he rewarded her with another orange slice, until both were gone.

While Obi was putting her dishes back on the food tray, Ilena said to him, "Mistress is here. She's been waiting a few minutes already, though not long. And Leah and Rio are on their way across the courtyard."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You have very good ears, Ilena. Was it so dangerous as that?"

"Mmm...not really for me." She answered him. "It was more so that I could hear what the needs of the household were."

"Is that how you knew when someone was fighting the madness, even if it was across the house, or outside?"

Ilena nodded. "Yes. They, in particular, would make a keening sound that, to this day, I can't stay away from. When I hear it, I must answer to it." She turned to look at him and held out her hand to him. "Your heart is making one similar to it now."

He turned and took her hand, then sat on the bed next to her and held her, letting her hold him once again in that position of comfort. He trembled and she slightly tightened her grip on his hair. "It was hard enough to go through this the first time," he said to her finally. "To have learned so suddenly who you were after your life was already in danger. But then, you were still a stranger, someone who I might once have known." He took a couple of breaths. "This time, you're walking voluntarily into the same thing, but now I know you. Now, I'm tied to you with more than strings, more that orders. It feels like being told that Mistress has kidnappers after her again, then just saying, 'here she is, come take her'." His tears burned hot in his eyes and he held her more tightly.

"Obi," Ilena said, "I'm sorry this part is hard, but the surgery will be much better than having a boulder bouncing down the hill at me, not knowing if it was going to hit my leg or my head. I'm glad it didn't hit my head so that I can be here, with you. I'm going to think only of what I want. Of being able to run with Obi, of being able to walk behind Mistress, of being able to dance, of being able to ride the wind on horseback. I want Obi to think on those things also. Think of the things you want after I'm recovered. Then we'll be able to have the strength for this day."

Obi held her tightly a moment longer, then relaxed a little and nodded into her shoulder. She turned her head and kissed the tip of his ear. "I love you, Obi," she whispered in his ear. Then she let him go. He stood and gently lay her back down to partially sitting up, his eyes trying to say what his mouth could not. Then he walked to the door and opened it to let the other ladies in. He had his public face on by the time he opened it.

"Mistress," Obi bowed. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting." He allowed the three ladies in, saying, "I've just finished getting Ilena ready for the day. She's ready for you."

Ilena smiled at Shirayuki, Leah and Rio. "Good morning. It's good to see you again, this morning."

They each wished her a good morning as well, and commented that it was good to see her sitting up. Leah made a second check to make sure Obi had done his job right, and was somehow surprised he'd done a good job, even though she'd been told he'd been her nurse for some time. Shirayuki talked cheerfully with Ilena for a brief while, then Ilena made sure to tell her that Obi had not had his breakfast yet. Shirayuki looked at him and told him he must eat to maintain his strength for the day, then crossed her arms at him until he complied.

While he ate, Shirayuki told them what the day's plan was. She had the Little Death dose with her, and would be giving it to Ilena shortly. They expected it to take one and a half to two hours for her to stabilize at the bottom of the hibernative state. At about one and a half hours Doctor Elliot and Ryuu would join them and begin preparations for the surgery. Once her vitals were stable, the surgery would begin. When it was done, there would be general clean up, then Obi and Shirayuki would stay with Ilena, like before at the garrison. After she had come back up through the payment cycle and had fallen asleep naturally, Obi would be excused. Shirayuki, Leah, and Rio would take turns rotating being with her until the surgeon declared her stable, which was expected to be within a week's time. Then they would gradually return to a normal daily cycle as her recovery progressed.

"Mistress," Obi said, "I've spoken with Master last night. He will let me stay with Ilena until she's recovered, after I've returned from my errand. While I'm not here, I'll be having Thayne, one of Ilena's Children I retrieved this last time, stay with her for me. After I'm excused this early afternoon, I'll be going to bring him here, then I'll leave for my errand."

The three ladies stared at him for a few seconds. "Okay, Obi," Shirayuki said. "I'm glad you've found a way to have strength to do the things you need to do." Secretly she was glad that he seemed to finally be content with being Ilena's partner and was properly taking care of her. And it seemed that Ilena was doing her best to properly take care of him as well.

"Rio, bring me the flowers, please," Ilena said.

"Oh, Mistress, these are beautiful!" Rio exclaimed as she picked them up and brought them over.

"Marcus and Henry stopped by this morning with them. But you already knew that, since they're from the household," Ilena smiled knowingly at her. Rio ducked her head slightly, and smiled shyly back.

Ilena searched through the flowers, then selected a pale pink rosebud and a fragrant green. Asking for another cup of water, she put them in it. Then she gave both back to Rio to put back on the desk. She turned and looked searchingly at Obi. He took a deep breath, then nodded.

"Mistress, I am ready," she said calmly, looking at Shirayuki. "If you'll hand it to me, I will take it myself."

Shirayuki poured the clear liquid into a cup. Ilena was able to guess just about how potent is was from her long experience with it. "That should last just right," she said accepting it from Shirayuki. She downed it like Obi would have downed a shot and gave the cup back to Shirayuki.

Obi put his chair next to her bed on her right side, to be out of the way of the surgeon, took the pillows out from behind her and lay her down. He sat in his chair and took her right hand in his. He smiled, remembering. "I did this for the last surgery, too. I held your hand and counted your heartbeats."

"I remember," Ilena said softly.

Obi raised his eyebrows and Shirayuki said, "What?" in surprise.

Ilena smiled gently. "The fever had interfered with the Little Death enough that I was partially aware, like being in a dream. It was comforting to know I wasn't alone in the confusion. That someone was holding me anchored with a warm grasp. I was able to relax and focus on that warmth."

Shirayuki paled. "That was a very painful surgery, Ilena. Were you feeling the pain?"

"No, Mistress," Ilena reassured her. "I was spared that, until I began to rise through the payment phase, of course. And even most of that isn't really remembered after recovering through the normal sleep phase."

Shirayuki relaxed a little. So did Obi. "Well, I'll anchor you this time as well, Ilena," Obi gripped her hand briefly.

She looked at him, "Thank you," she said softly, then she slowly slipped into sleep, beginning the descent, his eyes the last thing she saw, her hand held firmly in his.

-o-o-o-

Obi counted Ilena's initial heart and breath rates and told them to Shirayuki, who made a note in her medical record. She told him to give her an update every fifteen minutes. If the rate stayed consistent, they didn't need a shorter interval this time.

Shirayuki looked at Obi carefully. She'd been trying to practice ever since she'd finally come to understand at Osterly that he was having troubles. He was very good at disguising his emotions, but she thought she might be starting to understand them. If she was right, he wasn't doing very well, though he was trying.

"Obi," she bit her lip.

He looked up at her, and smiled. "Yes, Mistress?" It didn't look forced, rather it looked like he was glad she was there. That was good, if she could be a support for him, too.

"Will you tell me how you know Ilena now?" She thought that if he could talk about her, it would distract him from the waiting. It would also let her know that he'd finally been able to face forward.

Obi looked at her seriously for a moment. Then he glanced down at the hand he was holding. "Leah, please go tell Master that Ilena has taken the Little Death. He would like to know it's begun. Ask for the Rose Office. Rio, go and tell Doctor Elliot and Ryuu it's started also and ask if there's anything you can do to help them prepare." Both ladies bowed and left the room. They understood that they shouldn't enter the room again until he was done talking with his Mistress.

When they were gone, Shirayuki pulled up another chair on the other side of Ilena, and placed her hand on Ilena's arm, paying attention to the slow drop in her temperature.

Obi took a little time to sort what he was willing to say out of the things that could be said. "In the history of Clarines, that Master has, it talks about at the time of his birth the little princess and her parents came from Selicia to Clarines for his birth celebration. On their way home, one of the places they stopped by was Farmore. That princess was only about five at the time. I only remember her as a spoiled little girl who wanted things she shouldn't be wanting." He looked down, smiling ruefully.

His thumb rubbed Ilena's hand as he continued. "The next time I saw her, it was after the time of the coup. She was a very different person. Strong. Direct. Very concerned about others and their happiness. Alone, save for one nurse. They had crossed the northern mountains together, taking over a year to reach the house at Farmore. It seemed like she had aged fifteen years in those three to four years."

"You remember that Captain Grey said that the people of Farmore respected her at a young age...it was from nearly the time she came. She was able to stand up to the Earl's father, even before she had to learn to stand before the Earl. From the time she came, she made it her duty to comfort those who the Earl's father punished, those who's minds were breaking from the treatment they received at his hand. ...Even mine." He paused and smiled a small smile at Shirayuki. "I told you before, that she healed me then. She healed everyone who needed it."

"Then, the Earl and the Earl's father had a fight, and the Earl killed his father, unexpectedly. He was already one of those who was teetering on the edge of having his mind broken from the treatment of his father. The death of his father broke it." Obi was speaking matter of factly, but Shirayuki had a creeping feeling of horror coming over her. "He became worse than his father, because his outbursts were unpredictable. One night he went on a killing rampage, killing his second brother and his second brother's wife, and others. I could no longer take the madness, and fearing for my life, I ran from the house. I could think of no other thought than that of keeping my life. Later, I missed Ilena's comfort, but remembering it gave me strength."

Obi paused and counted again, then gave Shirayuki the data. She recorded it, writing in her lap. Obi picked up the story again. "When I came to the castle and saw Mistress, your strength reminded me of her strength. Master's firm kindness reminded me of the same in her. When I saw that there were others like her, in a place I could be safe, it was difficult for me to leave. You both taught me that I wanted to stay close to Master and Mistress."

"I was afraid to return to Farmore, still fearing for my life. I was very glad when the Earl didn't insist on speaking with us two months ago. ...I'm sorry I didn't attend to you when you were there in the fall. Master allowed me to have other things to do, so that I would't have to enter the house."

"Ah! That's perfectly understandable," Shirayuki reassured him. "It was difficult to face him as someone who was not ever of that house. I can imagine from your point of view it would be impossible."

"...Still, I am sorry." He said quietly. "Like you, I didn't know Ilena was the steward. We didn't see her there this spring because she was already in Osterly, and I hadn't been back until that time. I didn't fully recognize her at the landslide site because so many years had passed, though she did seem somewhat familiar. It wasn't until the Captain and his men were talking about her and said her name that I had any idea she was even still alive. To have heard she was also the right hand of the Earl made me question reality. Given how I knew the Earl to be, it was very difficult to believe she hadn't also been corrupted somehow in that amount of time." Shirayuki nodded her understanding. It would certainly be a reasonable assumption. "The conflict between what I remembered her being like, and what I thought she must have become was what caused you the most difficulty in Osterly. I apologize for that difficulty."

"But, you've resolved that now?" Shirayuki asked, looking at him.

He nodded. "I learned much from her as she answered Master's questions, about what she'd done. And I learned much from her Children as I collected them several weeks ago, about what kind of person she's become. I've been relieved to learn that she is still the same as she was when I left Farmore, only stronger. The Ilena of then, and the Ilena of now, is someone I can walk beside, though I must help her to learn obedience to Master and Mistress. She is still very willful."

Shirayuki smiled. "I imagine that at Farmore, that was a strength."

Obi nodded. "It may well be difficult to find the balance - allowing her to be strong, yet also teaching her to bow her head. Likely she will only bow her head to Master and Mistress, in the end."

"Do you think she'll learn to be obedient to me?" Shirayuki asked, a little surprised. "I think she's already very obedient to Obi."

"Yes, Mistress. She'll be obedient to you when she feels you're ready to hold her in your hand with strength. She'll teach you that strength. ...She's already obedient to me because she wishes to have my good will from the beginning. If she hadn't decided on this thing of herself, she wouldn't be. Even Master and King Brother can't hold her in their hands yet, because she hasn't willingly given herself to them, though she supports them with her strength in the place where she's placed herself."

Shirayuki and Obi were quiet for a while, then Shirayuki thanked Obi for telling her. When he took the next count, and she'd recorded it, he said she might let in the maids, if she liked. She went to the door and, when she saw they hadn't arrived yet, she let the guards know that they could be granted admittance. Then she and Obi talked of a few light things, both of them glad to have some time in each other's company again, even if for only a short while.

Everyone arrived all at the same time an hour later, and preparations for the surgery began in earnest. For Obi, the time of the surgery this time was like last, being lost in the counting to ensure that they understood the stress to her body. Holding on to her like a drowning man, willing her to stay alive until it was completed and beyond. For Shirayuki and Ryuu it was a time to learn and understand things they didn't have much opportunity to see, and a short time of focus as they prepared the glue to hold the bone together.

Doctor Elliot made sure to be very careful with his workings. In the end, he did decide to remove the egg sack and tube from Ilena on that side. The egg sack had been torn badly and the fluted end that was near it had been damaged as well, and he felt he should follow the midwife's recommendation and err on the side of caution. Ryuu was able to get Obi's attention long enough to explain to him what the surgeon had done. Obi nodded, but wasn't surprised. The two of them shared looks of resignation for the emotional storms that were to come. Leah and Rio, having heard earlier from Obi about it as well, also sighed. If all went well, their Mistress would live and walk again, but they would likely have a battle ahead of them to get her through the recovery.

The repair the field surgeon had tried hadn't worked. Doctor Elliot had to cut the pieces that hadn't worked, but he was able to save enough from what was connected to the muscle to connect to the piece he would be adding. The bone set well and the glue seemed like it would work also. He stitched the tendons together enough times for it to look like it would hold well. He was glad he'd set the glue first, though, because stitching the tendons together put some unexpected stress on the bone graft. It didn't look like it would be too bad if they made sure she wasn't moved at all for the first few days.

In order for that to not happen, he'd brought with him a stick that was thin but sturdy. He had them place it down her left side from just under the left breast to the left knee. They wrapped strips of cloth around her to hold it into place around her belly and around the left leg. This acted as a body splint so the hip was held in place. After the six weeks were up, she could slowly work the muscle and tendon and stretch them back out. It was the bone graft that needed to set correctly first.

When Doctor Elliot was done, he carefully set everything back in place, but he had a special way of setting it so the skin wouldn't heal just yet. He wanted to be able to get back in quickly if the body typing had been incorrect. Rejections were problematic, and quick re-entry could be essential. Once he was sure the graft had been accepted by her body, then he could allow the exterior of the body to reheal. He did have to say that the work Doctor Bonner had done in reconstructing her hip was very good work. He could see where some of the joins were, but for the most part it was very well repaired - even for the fact he'd been setting a woman's hip and not a man's. Doctor Elliot was quite relieved by that. He'd been worried he might have to break it and wait another six weeks before performing his experimental surgery. He was glad he wasn't going to have to mention that possibility to Ilena, or the Regent, now.

When he was done, he put an external cloth over the wound site, explained to Shirayuki and everyone who was going to be Ilena's nurse how to care for it, then left it to Shirayuki to finish binding it. He was quite tired, but pleased with how it had gone. He washed his tools and repacked them. Then he and Ryuu went over one more time their plan for if the graft was rejected. Ryuu would have enough ingredients for the glue set out on a tray waiting to bring to the room and immediately begin making the poultice. The last active ingredient would be added after the surgeon had removed the first graft so it would be ready as soon as he was ready to put in the second graft. They'd decided against using the Little Death in a second dose on top of the first. They would just take her off what she'd had that day. If she needed the second surgery, Shirayuki would make the pain killing tincture she'd made for Ilena before and they would give that to Ilena just before going in. Ryuu assured Doctor Elliot that it could be remade each morning and evening so that it would be ready if it was needed. If she didn't need it, then that was okay, too.

Doctor Elliot looked at Obi, then put his hand on his shoulder, waiting for his attention. When Obi nodded, he said, "I'm going up to see Master Zen now to give my report. He stopped by this morning and said I should do it personally. That it was okay for you to just stay with Mistress Ilena."

Obi glanced at him briefly. "Thanks." Doctor Elliot nodded and patted his shoulder. Taking his leave, he went off to see the Regent.

Ryuu gathered up the supplies and ingredients that needed to be taken back to the pharmacy. Rio helped him with the things that were too much for him to carry alone, and they went to the pharmacy to return them.

Shirayuki asked Obi for Ilena's vitals when she was done with the bandaging, which Leah and Alice had helped her with, and recorded them in the medical record. The ladies cleaned up the rest of the room. When everything was done, they collapsed into chairs. Rio walked in shortly thereafter pushing the lunch cart. Shirayuki looked at it, then at Obi. "I think I would like to take lunch outside in the courtyard. Would you ladies please join me? Obi can eat in a bit." They'd seen her look, and agreed they would like to eat outside as well, so out the cart went again, the ladies with it.

When they were gone, and he was alone with Ilena, Obi finally collapsed across the bed, his hand still holding hers. He was glad Doctor Elliot had said the surgery had gone well, but it hadn't been very good on his heart. He was quite strung out. Sitting on the chair, the top half of his body draped across her bed, he dozed lightly, his mind and body trying to recover.

-o-o-o-

Obi came alert as his body recognized the change in tempo in Ilena's body. She was coming out of the Little Death and approaching the sleep talking phase. He continued to lay halfway on the bed, but he propped his chin up on his arm and waited.

"I don't think I can do that," was the first thing she said.

"What can't you do, Ilena?" he asked her. Involving himself in her dream conversations had nearly become second nature.

"I can't tell you where Wellesley is."

"Hasn't he run away?" Obi asked.

"No, he's just hiding."

"Oh? Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. I'll find him when Obi's ready to let me find him."

Obi's eyes flew open wide. "You're impossible, Woman." He didn't expect an answer. She was about out of time.

"...Of course I am. If I was easy, I'd already be…"

Was she already asleep? "Dead?" he asked just to be sure.

"Worse. The cause of a war."

He stared at her, then realized she'd moved to the next phase. Quickly he called for the guard Sailte to send Shirayuki in. She arrived just as Ilena was beginning to moan in pain, Leah and Rio behind her. He had moved to the other side, so he could support the wounded hip. Shirayuki took the right side. Together, they held her down as her body arched in pain, though she fought it less this time than she had with the last surgery. Obi wondered if it was because she'd been started on a lower dose, or if it was the splint Doctor Elliot had put on her.

When the pain cycle was over, he quickly walked back around the bed and took her hand again. This time, he sat on the bed next to her, so she wouldn't have to work so hard to see him. The tears started to flow and Shirayuki, who had traded places with him, pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her face.

"Mistress, will you give her the next dose now?" he wasn't sure how the cycle would go this time.

Shirayuki shook her head. "I'll give her the first decreased dose to take her off of it tomorrow morning, then again in the morning the next day, then they'll go to this time after that. Doctor Elliot said if the after-tears dose is given this close to the first dose, she'll build up too much in her system too fast."

"Ah, I see."

Obi felt the hand in his squeeze his hand. "Good afternoon," he said to Ilena.

"I'm still alive. That's good," she said and slowly opened her eyes.

"Yes it is. Doctor Elliot says the surgery went well. If the graft takes, he says he'll be very pleased."

"That's good. Are you okay?" she squeezed his hand again.

"Yes, now that you're talking to me," he smiled at her. "Is the pain bearable?"

She considered it. "Yes, I guess. Pain is pain, after all."

"True," he said. "But if it feels like coals again, let us know immediately, if you can, okay?"

She nodded. "Obi, the rose and plant I pulled out this morning. Do you see them?"

"Yes."

"Take them and put them in your jacket where they can be seen. Take them with you and remember me. They are all I can send with you." She was fading into sleep. "Obi," she whispered, and he leaned down to hear her final words to him that day.

Then he kissed her cheek. "Good night, Ilena. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He sat with her a few minutes more, not really wanting to go, trying to make it look like he was making sure she was really sleeping. Then he gently let her hand go and walked over to the desk. He cut the stem of the rose short enough that he could slip it through a buttonhole of his jacket pocket. Then he did the same for the fragrant leaf, tucking it behind the rose. He looked at Leah and Rio. "I leave her in your care." They bowed to him. He turned to Shirayuki. "I'll return as soon as I can, Mistress. Please watch over Ilena and yourself while I'm gone, for you'll have none of those Master has set behind you to do it for you."

Shirayuki was a little surprised that he would be concerned for her, too, at this time. "I will, Obi. I will give you my strength, too. ...I'll spend the time I'm not here in the Rose Office. That way Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki can watch over me while the two of you cannot."

"Thank you, Mistress." Obi bowed to her. He took one last look at Ilena, then left the room and the palace.


	21. Bringing New Strength into the Castle

**CHAPTER 21 Bringing New Strength into the Castle**

Obi had ordered for his horse to be ready the day before. It wasn't long before he was on his way to Falcon's Hollow. On the way, he used the hour hard ride to calculate the passage back. It was a good distraction for him from the other thing his mind kept wandering to. At some point he patted his horse. He was glad Fenrier loved to run as hard as he did. When he slowed down to approach the guard station, he realized he'd left without lunch. Maybe there would be someone in the kitchen who could throw something together for him.

"Sir Obi! We didn't expect you today," the day's guards had come out of the station when they saw a rider coming down the road, but he had to be closer before they saw it was him.

"It was decided late last night," he told them, his signature relaxed grin on his face. "That's what I get for being the Regent's Messenger - woken in the middle of the night with new orders and sent out to strange places without warning." They grinned back at him.

Then, his face a little more serious, he told them, "I've been sent to bring two of them up to the castle, Master's orders. Then I'm off to collect the next set. We should be arriving in four days, at most five. Has everything been okay at the house?" He hadn't received a daily report for two days and had expected one to arrive today.

"Yes, sir. Things are quiet here, just a few to turn away every other day or so. Everyone at the house has settled into a nice routine, though they're all calling it their 'vacation home'. Most of them are picking up hobbies to keep themselves busy. The ones that aren't have actual jobs to do."

"That's good. I'd hate to see problems crop up due to boredom...like in the soldier's quarters," he waggled his finger at them. "I know what you guys do when you're on down time."

They laughed, embarrassed. "Well, we're trying to be good," they claimed.

"That'd be nice, if it was the truth," Obi said. "Well, I'll wave on my way out." He kicked his horse into motion again and headed at a run down the road towards the house.

The sound of a horse arriving wasn't too unusual, but it was rare enough that everyone that heard it looked for the source. Thayne and Foster were the first to recognize the horse and rider. Thayne ran out towards Obi while Foster started passing the news around that Father had come. Enough clamor went up that even Captain Garen came out to see what was going on.

Obi slowed a bit, then leaned down and extended an arm to Thayne as the horse came up by him. Thayne grabbed his arm and leapt up behind him. "You're coming back with me," Obi said to Thayne. "Get Dane and meet me in the kitchen. I've got to talk to the Captain first, but I haven't had lunch yet."

"Got it," said Thayne as Obi pulled his horse to a stop in front of the crowd that had gathered. Thayne slid of the horse before it was at a full stop and ran towards the entrance of the main house.

Foster took Fenrier's reins and Obi jumped off. "I'm not to be here long. Saddle Thayne's horse, and pick one out for Dane." Foster looked at him surprised, but nodded, then led Fenrier to the stable.

Obi picked up Thom, who was headed for his leg, and threw him in the air. "And how's Master Thom today?"

Thom grabbed him around the neck when he came back down laughing. "Hello, hello!" he crowed. Sallie trotted up to him and held out her hands for Thom. "Thom, Father's here on business. Come here." Thom went.

"I'll come play in a few more days, okay, Thom?" Obi promised.

"Okay!" Thom nodded.

The adults all got interested in that comment, but Obi was grabbing up Micky, who was prepared this time, and throwing him in the air next. "Have you been having a fun adventure so far?" Obi asked him as he set him down.

"Yup!" Micky said. "Grandpa Roy, Mat, and I get to go exploring up in the little caves every day with Mister Robert and Peter!"

"Hoh? There's caves are there?"

"Yup. We're making some of them bigger so we can play fort and the girls can play house. Mister Robert knows how to do it so they don't fall on us." Mat was nodding enthusiastically, too.

Obi smiled at them. "That sounds like lots of fun. Maybe I can come up and see them some time." He looked around for Robert and caught him trying to hide a blush. Obi was glad he'd found something to do that helped the Family as a whole. It must mean that he finally felt part of.

"You can't stay long? That's too bad." Elandra said with the signature pout she liked to show him.

"Are you keeping busy doing good things?" he asked her, really already knowing the answer since the Captain kept him updated.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I might even forget how to be a bad girl at this rate."

"Well, that's not all bad," Obi said, and she mock frowned at him. "Your workload is going to double, though, after today."

"Eh?" she was surprised.

It looked like Obi had everyone in the Family group he was going to get. He turned to the Captain. "I need to talk to you first, to make it all official, but I'm going to ask the Family a question before that. Are you okay with me making it all confusing?" The Captain nodded a bit resignedly. He didn't really have the clout to say no. Obi turned to the Family. "I'll explain after I talk to the Captain, but I need your approval for one thing first."

Everyone got quiet and listened. "How do you feel about a very few of you being taken back, for reasons of the Regent, with the approval of Mother, and the rest having to stay?"

Everyone was very quiet with their thoughts for a while. Robert raised his hand. "I'd like to stay. It won't bother me if someone's needed by the Regent."

"I'd leave in a heartbeat, you know that," Elandra said, "but you were right. Sitting on the stable roof is really nice."

"If Foster had to go, I'd want to go with him, and Thom, too," Sallie said. "But if someone was needed, that's okay with me." Betty and Roy nodded. They'd want to stay together, too.

Obi could see that Peter was torn by that. He'd want to stay with Robert, but he'd want to go with his adoptive family. He called to him, "Peter, I know you'd just be happy wherever there was food, as long as it wasn't onions you'd have to peel." That got a few chuckles. "That isn't what I want to know. How would you feel if someone else was taken and you weren't?"

"The same," he shrugged. "If they're needed, then they need to go."

Rose was the last one in the group. Obi looked at her. She smiled. "It's okay. We all feel the same."

"All right then," Obi said. "Gather everyone and meet me in the dining hall in about twenty-five, thirty minutes and I'll fill everyone in at once."

They nodded and began to scatter. Obi turned to the Captain, "Let's go to your office."

It didn't take long for Obi to tell Captain Garen what his orders were.

"Why did you ask them if it was okay first? It's an order from the Regent, isn't it?" Captain Garen wanted to know.

Obi paused for a moment. "They're a family, right? It isn't right to cause them friction without knowing it. If any of them was going to get jealous, or worried they were going to be betrayed, your job would be a lot harder. And...they're part of Mother's household. Her rule is that it's a house with no walls, no restrictions on leaving it if you want. She's asking them to let her bend those rules by asking them to remain here peaceably. Yet, now she's also asking them to let her break her own rule again and bring two back. We can't afford to mess with their loyalty to her. That's what's keeping them here and happy."

Captain Garen nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. ...You said you'd be back soon?"

Obi nodded. "When I deposit the two boys where they belong, then I'm off to pick up the next set. I'm sorry I can only tell you I got eight names this time. I get to find out just what ages and how many people that really means this time before I go, but I don't find out until tonight. So I won't be able to give you any more heads up than this, like last time. Sorry." The Captain shrugged. "We should be back in four or so days, like last time, only faster since I just have to pick them up, not hunt them down. At least, that's the goal." He grinned ironically.

"Well, they'll probably settle in just as quick as this lot. At least that's what this lot claims," Captain Garen smiled back in a similar vein. "I'll tell the guards to be watching for you, then."

"Okay," Obi stood. "I'll go talk to everyone and let them know what's going on. I've brought news for them, too."

"I'll come tag along," the Captain stood as well. "I've decided my hobby while I'm stuck here is to write up my research on how a group of families becomes a family group, and doesn't kill each other in the process."

Obi laughed. "Well, you'll have to come meet Mother some time then, and interview her. She's the glue, you know."

"Yeah, I've kind of figured that out." Captain Garen looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "You remember I asked you when you left last time why they called you Father, and you were playing along?"

"Mmm, yeah, I guess I do."

"You said to ask them, so I did."

"Did they tell you?"

"Not directly. But I have noticed that you're almost as much glue to these folks as Mother is."

Obi looked at him. "Somehow, I already knew that. I just don't know why yet. ...Except Mother's decided I'm Father, so everyone accepts it."

"It's definitely more than that. In listening to them, it also has to do with why you naturally 'play along' with the title."

Obi paused internally. That struck a chord deep within him that resonated with Ilena's sleep talking earlier. _I'll find him when Obi's ready for me to find him_. He wondered why the two fit together. He pondered that as they entered the house. He told the captain to wait in the dining room with the others, then went to the kitchen himself. There he found Thayne, Dane, the cook, Bill, and a plate of food set out for him. "Ah, thanks, Bill, Thayne," Obi said. He sat and began to eat quickly. "We'll go into the dining hall in a bit. Bill, if you'd go ahead and go now..." Bill bowed slightly and left the kitchen.

Obi thought while he ate. Dane looked at him curiously, wondering if they should really also be there. Thayne saw him shift. "It's okay Dane. Father can only do two things at once. Right now that's eating and thinking. He'll talk once one of the those is done."

Obi rolled his eyes at Thane, but kept eating and thinking. Actually these two would have the answer for him, _if_ they'd tell him. Or at least another clue. "What does Mother expect me to become?" he asked them, swallowing down his drink. He caught the look they passed between each other. "Don't answer it now. Answer it once we're on the road. Then you'll have had time to decide how much of the answer you can give me."

"You're really taking us out?" Dane asked.

Obi nodded. "Do either of you have a problem with the fact that Master and Mother have called for you?" He was careful to keep his voice neutral.

"No," they both shook their heads. He could see that they were firm in their commitment to serve both.

He stood. "Good. Come hear the news, then gather up whatever you've got to bring. Foster's getting your horses ready. If he's not here you can tell him before we go." He led them to the dining room.

Indeed, everyone but Foster, Alice, and the four little children were there. Obi took the central area inside the square of tables, where he had stood just before he'd left them. "Master and Mother have called for Thayne and Dane to be brought to the castle. They'll be protected there, as Mother is, and have specific jobs to do that only they can do. I don't expect them to return here, though if any of you wish to visit with them at the castle once this is all over with and you can go home, that would be acceptable. At that point they will be free to leave the castle when their duties permit it. My understanding is that these are permanent assignments."

Everyone looked at Dane and Thayne in excitement. They were looking stunned, though not completely opposed to the idea. Sallie looked at Thayne with that sad but proud look all mothers look at their grown sons with when they move up into full adulthood and leave home. Obi reminded himself he'd have to give him time to say his goodbyes to her and Thom, who would miss him terribly. It was good Peter would be here for him, and the other young boys.

"Also," Obi continued, "this evening I begin the collection of the next eight-plus witnesses." Everyone looked at each other with knowing looks. "I expect to take about the same amount of time, or a little less, as it took to get all of you here." He closed his eyes halfway. "This time I actually get Grandfather's help." Dane laughed and Thayne smiled. "I'm sure you'll take good care of them. I'll stay a short while to give them the same speech I gave you, and if we're fast enough I'll stay to visit for a few hours. I would like to stay longer, but...I have further news about Mother."

Everyone got very alert and very quiet. He didn't realize it, but they could see that the light he shone with was shadowed. "Doctor Elliot performed an experimental surgery on Mother's hip this morning to graft a new tendon onto the hip bone and the natural tendon in her leg. The surgery went well. If the graft isn't rejected by her body, she'll be able to begin learning to walk again in six weeks. She's allowed him up to three tries, as it's painful both physically and mentally. She is already teetering between testy and tantrum from the first six weeks she was required to remain immobile on her back." There were looks of sympathy around the table.

Roy and Betty looked at each other in worry, and Sallie looked worried, too. She looked over to Roy and Betty and some unspoken communication went between them.

"Master has approved Grandfather to visit every evening, and has allowed Leah and Rio to come sit with her and brave her tantrums so that Mistress doesn't have to." There were satisfied nods from those who knew the maids. They were pleased she would have the support.

"And, Master has made her his Director of Intelligence." He carefully watched their reactions to this news. Dane sat upright in his chair in shock. Many looked surprised. A few nodded, as if they'd expected some sort of news like this eventually. As his eyes passed over the captain, he noticed that the captain himself was shocked by this news. Obi smiled inwardly. He would have some interesting new data for his research now, if he was really doing it.

"That's everything I have for now. Thayne and Dane, gather your things quickly, then say your goodbyes. Peter, help Thom. He'll be losing his big brother for the second time." Peter nodded. "I'll be at the stable waiting." Obi turned and left the dining hall. He wondered who of the line of people following him would reach him first.

Captain Garen reached Obi first just outside the house. "He really did that? He made her Director of _Intelligence_?"

"Who put together all these witness all those years ago, Captain Garen?" Obi asked him. "And kept them loyal to herself until they were needed?" That stopped the mouth of the Captain. "Continue to do your research, Captain, but begin to dig a little deeper, open your eyes a little wider." He left the captain behind.

No one else caught up to him before he reached the stable, but when he turned around after checking on his horse, he was surrounded by the two couples of the group, Sallie and Foster - who had been filled in quickly by Sallie - and Roy and Betty. He looked at them quizzically. "What can I do for you?"

The individuals of the group shifted until an unspoken spokesperson was chosen. Foster crossed his arms and Roy said, respectfully, "Father, you are not okay."

Obi grimaced. Of course. These four would know it. "No, not really, but Master's done his best to give me what I need in the midst of having needs of his own. He allowed me to stay with Mother through the surgery, until I knew she was through it myself. She's given me Thayne, with Master's approval, to watch over her while I'm gone. He'll stay with us in the same capacity I've stayed with Mistress for Master." Foster nodded his approval. "When I return to the castle, he'll allow me leave from my duties until she's sufficiently recovered - which will likely be when she starts to throw her tantrums and I shall wish to escape." He smiled a lopsided smile. Foster grinned back at him. Roy hid his smile, but it was knowing all the same.

"That's good," sighed Sallie. "To be sent out on the same day..." She shook her head. "I'm glad that Thayne can be a support for you. I think of all of us he's wished the most to not be here, but to be where he can be of use to you. Thom will be okay. It was different when Thayne was meanly stolen away and we were all sad. For you to take him, Thom will be happy to share his brother and we'll be happy with him. It will help that we can tell him we'll visit his brother later."

"That's good to hear," Obi said.

"If it's okay with you," Betty said carefully, "we'll explain it to everyone after you've gone. Then they won't press you more than you can bear when you return. There will be other times we can visit with you that your heart won't be weighed down and your desire conflicted."

The other three nodded. "It would be wise to allow it," Foster said, looking at him meaningfully. Obi remembered that he'd been through the loss of one wife already.

Obi nodded. "You may tell them after we're gone."

Betty and Roy each extended a hand to him. Not normally physically demonstrative, except with Mother, he paused. Then he took their hands in his. This was Mother's world. They pressed his hands to extend to him their strength, then they released him and left. Sallie threw her arms around him and gave him a hug. He tried not to be too distressed. Then she stepped back and Foster took his arm in his big hand. "Mother is strong. Rely on Thayne. He won't fail you." Obi nodded, and they, too, left saying they would go find Thayne and say their goodbyes. Sallie called to the children and they said that Peter had already collected Thom.

As he watched them walk off, Obi felt Elandra's presence above him. He looked up and into her face that was peeking over the edge of the roof. She grinned at him. "It's very quiet up here. If you'll join me, I'll promise not to say or do anything."

She was right. That really was where he wanted to be right now. "You promise?"

"Yup," she was just as serious as he was.

Obi was on the roof quickly. He found his favorite view and sat down. After a while, the peace of the openness and the distant sounds of people began to seep into him. He noticed that even Elandra's quiet presence was surprisingly calming. It was good to know he wasn't alone at this time.

After some time had passed, Elandra said quietly, "They're coming."

He looked over to the house and saw that she'd been sitting so she could watch for them for him. He slid over to the edge of the roof. "Thank you," he said to her.

"Take care of her for us," she requested.

"I'm doing my best," he answered before he slipped down to the ground.

Dane and Thayne tied their bags to the backs of their saddles, then looked at Obi expectantly. He smoothly climbed into his saddle, and they followed suit. They took one last look around Falcon Hollow, then followed behind him as he led them out onto the road. The guards waved them through as they passed the station.

Obi estimated they had about three hours they could be out. There was a place on the same route they'd come in on where he could detour and arrive at the castle earlier. He would need about two and a half hours for that way. They could shave it down if they ran hard. His companions wouldn't be surprised if he did that, having experienced his impatience on the way there, but first he had things to say to them. So for now, he went at a somewhat slow trot. Fenrier wasn't pleased. He liked to either take it at an easy walk, or run hard. It was difficult to get him to take the middle speeds. Obi forced his way - Fenrier could use the training.

He motioned to the two other young men to come up on either side of him. He found it interesting that when the Family was all together, he really did think of them as being much younger than him, or he as much older. When they were like this, it was more like what they really were, all young men roughly the same age. "Dane, Master has taken your brother Tairn into his office where he is studying under one of his direct aides, Miss Kiki, the heiress to the Earldom to the east. Her father is now requiring her to spend half of her year at the Earldom to learn her duty. Master, of necessity, has need of two who can take her place when she can't be at Castle Wilant." He spoke directly ahead so both could hear him. Now he looked sideways at Dane. "It was you and your father's example to me that decided him in the choice."

Dane was looking pleased and surprised. "It takes two to replace her?"

"Yes. She is excellent at everything she does, because she feels she can't afford to be bested by any man, as the sole heiress of the Earldom. However, this makes her loss to Master more difficult to compensate for." Dane nodded. "I wasn't present for Tairn being called up, but Miss Kiki's told me that she was careful to call Master to remembrance that he already had one heir he would lose, and he was calling another. He calmed her by saying that he understood and that he was only calling Tairn for the time it took Miss Kiki to train her second understudy to be as efficient as she. In this way he'll only have to continue to look to one permanent aide." Dane was still listening politely. "You'll need to work hard. She returns with her father to the Earldom after the Lord's Court this year, and will likely not return again until next spring. Tairn should be able to help you with the work, but she isn't putting as much effort into training him in her methods as she will with you."

"Wait. _I'm_ being called up to be Miss Kiki's eventual replacement?" Dane was flabbergasted.

Obi nodded. "The stacks on my desk need attending to as well. If Miss Kiki gives you any time to rest at all, please help Mistress with my stacks. She's only had one day of training."

"Mistress Shirayuki is in the office?!" Dane's eyes were even bigger.

"She requested it. Ilena's allowed it temporarily while she isn't available for her training. When Ilena recovers, Mistress won't be able to help me as much, I'm afraid. She will be very busy with just as difficult a task mistress as Miss Kiki, learning to be Master's Princess." Obi put on a sad face. He really would have liked to have more of Mistress's help.

"Mother's doing what?"

"Mistress has asked her to help her become Master's Princess. Master's been unable to do it himself, so the matter has been taken out of his hands by the two Mistresses." Obi shook his head. "Ilena warned me that she was going to be difficult. She was not lying."

Dane worked to wrap his head around the news. He squirmed uncomfortably. "Umm...has my brother said anything?"

"Yes. He's told us he is King Brother's man and you are Ilena's. Master says that's fine. If he forgets to tell a thing to his brother, Tairn may tell him. If something comes through the office you believe Ilena should know, you may tell her. He doesn't want something important to go missing."

"Ah, I see." Dane seemed to be feeling very enlightened.

"Ah, is that why you were so surprised that she's been asked by Master to be his Director of Intelligence?"

"Yes."

"Mmm, well, Ilena made it very obvious what she wanted her place to be. When she's finished proving herself, Master will place her where she belongs."

"Wait." Thayne protested. "She's been given the Directorship while she's still in testing?"

Obi nodded. "Master understands that King Brother already recognizes her skills. That isn't what Master's testing."

Now Dane was surprised again. "The King already knows she's a…"

"Yes. He's been watching her and their networks cross in several places. ...It's how she found me again, she says."

"Oh," Dane said faintly. Then after a pause, "Then I should be able to work with Tairn. It's always been a difficulty for us that he couldn't understand her place in the workings of Clarines. That has never mattered to me."

"Yes," Obi said smiling. "He was as surprised as you when he and Master talked. I think he was muttering just yesterday that he was wishing you could come soon and help carry the burden that is Miss Kiki."

"Will it be that hard?"

"Yes, but it will be well worth it." Obi looked at him with Father's eyes, though he didn't know it.

"All right, then," Dane nodded, finally content.

"Actually, they were going to wait until all of Falcon Hollow was released to bring you to the Rose Office, but you were Master's price for me to gain Thayne. Master has been waiting for that excuse for some time. He hated to be the one who owed Ilena. But then you would have had only your brother to train you for most of a year...or you would have been sent to the Earldom to train with Miss Kiki there. Mister Mitsuhide didn't like that idea, though, particularly now that they are engaged, finally."

"What? Isn't he the close aide to Prince Zen that no one believes would ever leave his side?"

"Of course. It's likely he still won't leave Master's side, though they have yet to work out their plan. But if he does, I do hope Master doesn't make me stand in his stead. I have enough difficulty with the little, in comparison, he has me do. Ah, but already Mister is giving me other tasks of his own to complete...and he already has the entire Rosebud Office to call on, while Obi has no one other than an untrained Mistress." Obi was sad again.

"Um...if he does that, Father won't be able to stand in the place Mother wishes to place him."

Obi looked at him sharply for a few seconds. "We will come back to that," he said shortly. Dane nodded, though he was surprised Obi was willing to put off hearing the answer to the question he'd asked earlier.

"Thayne, Ilena has given you to me. She asked at first if I should like you as my man-at-arms." Thayne gave a start. Obi found that interesting. "I told her I wasn't in a position to have such a thing. She said to me that she would give you to me to stand in my place beside her when I can't stand there, and that she would send you with me when she can't go with me. Master approved, if Dane was brought as well. Thus here we are." They both nodded.

"When we arrive at the castle I'll take you both to your quarters and give you your keys, then introduce you to Master. We'll leave Dane there in the cold ungentle hands of Miss Kiki and the desperate embrace of his brother," Dane was looking a little pale. "Ah, sorry, Dane. It isn't that bad, really." It didn't look like he was going to believe him. "And I'll take you, Thayne, to Mother. The location of her room is secret. You mustn't let anyone know you know of her, or where she is." Obi looked at him directly, his eyes fierce.

Thayne nodded, "Yes, Sir."

Obi turned the same look on Dane. "Yes, Father."

Obi continued. "I'll introduce you to her guards and Mistress. Mistress, Leah and Rio are sitting with Ilena. You'll also sit with her in my place. Typically my watch is the last watch from the middle of the night until breakfast is served. I can't stay. They'll train you in what you need to do. Always be respectful of Mistress. Because you are in my place, I'll expect you to also stand behind Mistress as she has need, for during this time neither Ilena nor I are there. She's promised to spend her time away from Ilena at the Rose Office where Master can watch over her. You will at the very least see she arrives there safely. If she knows when you should go to fetch her, you should also see her away. But if you take her to her rooms at night, never enter them or Master will send you away immediately. Call for Miss Kiki. Her rooms are next door to Mistress's." Obi paused. It was a lot of instructions all at once.

Thayne nodded his understanding again. Obi sighed. "I'd originally thought I would like to have you with me again. Ilena would send you with me, being as concerned about me being gone as I am about her being alone. But my need is greater than hers, and I'll have another guide from Grandfather." He almost missed the look that went between Dane and Thayne.

"Ah, there are others of the Family in the castle, I'm sure many I don't know yet, but Thayne, you'll remember Marcus and Henry, the runners from the Black Cat." Thayne nodded. "They've arrived since Master let Ilena speak with Grandfather. She's called them to do her work. This morning they arrived outside her door to wake us up. As she put it, they were 'finally admitting they knew where she was'. I've told the guards they may be admitted, but for the first week of her recovery, only those who are required to assist her should be admitted. If she's strong enough after that, we'll see. I've required them to bring her a gift in four days. It's to remind her to get better for my sake."

"Now, Dane, let us have the answer. I asked 'what does Mother wish for me to _become_ ', you said '...in the _place_ she wishes to put me'. They are two different things. Which one will you answer?"

Dane considered it. "I don't think I may answer the first one. I'll answer the second."

Obi nodded, and Dane continued. "I think perhaps you may already know it, though it hasn't been said yet. Mmm...A high level court appointment requires many staff, and most importantly, the one who stands next to the one who is in the highest position. In the case of the Department of Intelligence, the person who stands at the first level must be completely loyal to the crown, or regent, lest they plot and execute the downfall of that crown or regent. The second to that person must also be of the same level of loyalty. Not only because they know all of the information, but because they fulfill the will of the highest level person."

After some deciphering, Obi said, "Because Master will put Ilena in as Minister of Intelligence, she will put me as her Assistant Minister, in order that I may carry out her and Master's will."

Dane nodded. "You have understood it."

Obi nodded. He could see it. He could also see it conflicting with what Master wanted if they didn't agree early where Obi should be placed. It was good Dane had told him. He must tell Master about it, so that they could set Ilena's expectations appropriately.

He remembered what Zen told him, _That Princess claimed you long ago, and she will make you one who can stand beside her, the same as she will make Shirayuki someone she can stand behind._ Just as Shirayuki must become a princess to have a princess stand behind her, just as Ilena must become a Minister for a princess to stand beside the Regent, that Princess Minister couldn't have some stray dog picked up out of the gutter to stand beside her, whether or not he was the Assistant Minister, though that position would also not be handed to any stray dog. In his thinking over lunch, he had come to understand that she would bring his own past back to haunt him again. But Dane was right, it wasn't his place to tell Obi. Ilena would tell him in her own way, in her own timing. While she might say she would wait for Obi to be ready to reveal Wellesley's hiding place, he knew she wouldn't wait if it was detrimental to her plans to wait. He needed to become prepared, or he would have to fight against her very hard. He didn't want either at the moment. He shook his head.

"I'm done with my speaking. Let's hurry to the castle." He finally allowed Fenrier his head and he leapt ahead at a run. The others hurried after him, their horses just as happy to stretch their legs and feel the freedom of the speed.

-o-o-o-

Zen had told Obi to quarter Dane in the same wing as his other aides, so Obi had given him the room next to Mitsuhide's. Obi pointed out so Thayne would know, who's rooms were who's. The lower corner room on the right was his own, then Mitsuhide's, then Dane's. The rest were empty on that side. Above were Mistress's, then Kiki's, then the rest empty. The rooms on the other side of the wing were all empty, and were suites - two bedrooms to either side of a main sitting room/office. In the middle was a 'great hall' with seating around the edges. A breakfast cart was brought there early in the morning for the aides to eat from before they went to work in their respective offices. The stair rose from the far end and a set of doors at the landing led out into a small private garden where the aides could go to relax on their down time, though it was used most often as a private trysting spot for Zen and Shirayuki when he had the time to walk her to her rooms. Of course private was relative. One of them was always with them unless Zen sent them away. Then they stayed just inside the door where he could call them if he needed them.

Outside the hall, towards the castle, the door was guarded by two guards. This prevented unwanted entry into the wing, and if any aide would need anything, they could let the guards know. Obi took the time at that point in the explanation to introduce both Thayne and Dane to the guards. "Here's your key, Dane. Go explore for a minute. I'm going to stop by my room while I'm here." Obi hadn't been back for a while and he needed to get properly dressed for going to the Glass Bottle that night. That took a little longer than he expected. He didn't want to wear his dress formals, and his normal castle uniform wasn't quite right either. He finally settled on his one 'costume' that he kept to get into such nice places. He just didn't like it very much. Maybe he should ask the castle clothing department to make him a new outfit that was more comfortable.

Thayne whistled when he came back out and Dane looked at him approvingly. "You dress up nice!"

Obi tugged at his jacket, then checked to make sure the rosebud and greenery were set firmly in place. He'd worried he might have lost them on the run back, but he hadn't. "I'm meeting my guide at the Glass Bottle."

Dane nodded, understanding. "That should go over fine there, but are you going to have to wear it the whole trip?"

Obi looked at him aghast. "Absolutely not! I have other things packed, of course."

Thayne smiled at Dane. "Don't you remember what he wore into your house? He seems to keep various costumes around with him everywhere he goes."

"Well...this is my only costume. The rest are real work clothes." Obi said. "Let's get moving to the next thing. In the interest of time, Thayne, I'll take you to your room later. It's closer to Ilena's."

To the people who saw them pass in the hallways, it looked like a new lordling had come to the castle with his two men at arms behind him. Obi would have been horrified to know. The few times he greeted people he knew, they had to look twice to understand who it was they'd seen. Even the guards at Zen's office door almost didn't let him in at first glance. It wasn't until he gave them his 'do I need to be angry with you' look that they believed it really was the Obi who tortured the Regent so much. Before they knocked and announced them, Obi introduced Dane and Thayne to them, so they could have correct passage into the room later.

Kiki opened the door to let them in. She stood in the doorway a moment sizing up the three young men. Then she said to Obi, "You look more like what I was expecting than them. I don't think I can let you in."

"You want this one," Obi pointed to Dane. "Are you going to let Master greet them or not?"

Kiki moved one step and turned to let them in, then closed the door behind them. Zen was still sitting at his desk, as this wasn't a meeting, but he'd put his work aside for the moment. Mitsuhide was standing next to Zen's desk and Tairn was standing at his own desk, looking very relieved to see his brother enter the room. They gave each other careful nods of greeting when Dane first entered the room.

Obi led them up to Zen's desk. "Master, this is Dane Malkin, second son of Earl Malkin. This is Thayne of Wexford." He indicated each of them in turn.

Zen greeted them both in proper order, then addressed Thayne first. "Thank you for coming to stand behind Obi for Ilena's sake." He understood that the people in her house would respond well to gratitude. "I'll entrust her to your care while Obi is gone. As I'm personally interested in her welfare, I wish you to understand that if there are any significant changes in her status, you will please inform me right away."

"Yes, Regent," Thayne bowed.

Zen turned to Dane. "Dane, you'll stand with your brother to support Kiki. In my office, please refer to me as Zen. Thank you for showing mercy to Obi when you first met him. You have my gratitude for forgiving me as well, and being willing to come with him."

"It's my honor," Dane bowed.

Zen glanced at Mitsuhide who took his turn. "I am Mitsuhide Lowen. Welcome to the Rose Office. I'll have your castle staff badges for you by tomorrow afternoon, however without having Obi here, Thayne, it may be a few days before we can get yours to you. You understand that we can't send a page with it."

"Ah, that," Obi said, shifting. All the regular's eyes turned to him. "This morning two of Ilena's who've come since Grandfather has begun coming, arrived at her room, barking to be let in. It was a disturbing alarm clock for this morning. Ilena said they were finally admitting they already knew where she was so they could wish her well before the surgery. Their names are Marcus and Henry and currently they are working as castle pages. If you need to send messages between here and Ilena's room, you may use them. Ilena has said they are used to hard work. Apparently they keep asking her for it."

Zen, taking the news in that she had indeed started acting right away, was actually pleased it had been an action he could use. Not having a convenient way to communicate between the two rooms without Obi had been a concern. His eyes lifted in a minute smile. "See to it," he said. He looked at Kiki, signaling it was her turn to speak.

"I'm Kiki Seiran. I hope you'll be able to learn quickly what I have to teach you, Dane. Tairn has proved most helpful. I look forward to working with you also."

Dane bowed to her. "Please take care of me."

"Then, please come over here. This will be your desk." She placed her hand on the desk behind hers, next to Tairn's. It already had several stacks of documents on it.

Obi waved a 'good luck' wave at Dane as Dane gave Obi a 'good bye' look. Obi was about to take Thayne off, when Zen called to him.

"Obi."

"Master?" he looked curiously at Zen to see what it was he needed.

Zen looked at him closely. Obi's eyes were worried, but they weren't shadowed, and his shoulders held the burden of his partner, but he was no longer was unsure of himself. Zen nodded. "So, did you end it with the same kiss as you began it?"

Obi blushed a bright red and everyone in the room looked at him in shock. Even Zen had only expected an off-hand comment like usual. Obi had been so suddenly filled with a confusion of emotions he wasn't sure how to respond. Zen also noticed this fact. It was obvious to him...Obi had, and it had probably been received well. If it had been otherwise, Obi would have easily deflected the comment. "Ah," Zen said contritely, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased."

Obi, still not really knowing what to say, for the first time in a very long time, finally settled on a quick retreat. He bowed to Zen. "We'll take our leave." Then he turned and led a still shocked Thayne out of the Rose office.

After he was gone, Mitsuhide looked at Zen. "You've managed to make Obi mad, I think?"

"I wonder?" Zen said. "I certainly didn't expect such a strong reaction, or I wouldn't have said it."

"Who did he kiss this time?" Kiki asked.

"This time?" Mitsuhide asked, not understanding since he thought he knew Obi didn't go around kissing people generally.

"Wasn't it Zen last time?" Kiki said as if she was keeping score.

"He didn't!" Zen protested vehemently.

Kiki just gave him one of her signature cool looks, and Zen knew she was punishing him for having said it and making Obi mad. He sighed and rested his chin in his hand. He would have to remember to apologize to Obi again properly when he returned.

Dane looked at Tairn, wonder and questions in his face. Tairn shrugged, saying, _yes, this is typical of this office_. Dane smiled a little. Even if Miss Kiki was a hard taskmistress, he would enjoy working here.

-o-o-o-

After walking in silence for a while, Obi asked Thayne, "How would you go about getting Marcus or Henry to know you needed them?"

"Ahh," Thayne was startled by the question. "...Like this," he pursed his lips and whistled.

Obi quickly memorized the whistle, then noticed with his street awareness that quite a number of people had melted from side aisles into the farther parts of the castle. He paused to see if they would return to their places. "That's an interesting way to communicate with them. Would you do that for any of Mother's Children in the castle?" Thayne shook his head. Obi crossed his arms. "Thayne, for someone who supposedly was stuck in a back country hunting lodge, you seem to be particularly knowledgeable about Ilena's household matters."

Thayne flushed. He'd been found out. "You said earlier that Tairn had admitted to Prince Zen that Dane was an agent of Mother's. I...am also one. She had me be sure to stay at the hunting lodge this last season particularly in order to be taken up by Viscount Delay, so that I could learn what his intentions were. Prior to that, I was stationed mostly in Lyrias. However, Marcus and Henry are never far from Mother. I learned this way of contacting them when she was visiting there."

"I see," Obi said. The messengers who had disappeared were already reappearing back at their posts. Most of them seemed to be maids and low level castle staff, which he would expect. In the end he counted five, no six. They hadn't been gone long. There must be a chain of communication. He wondered if it could contain moving information. He started walking again along his route, and kept track of how long it was taking the pages to arrive.

As he moved beyond the original location, he noticed the people behind him didn't move again, but people along the path he walked took note of his passage. So they would go to the original location and then be sent in the right direction? He was surprised when they rounded a corner and Marcus, with Henry running up behind him, was in front of him. Had they read his intentions of where he was going? Or had there been some communication he hadn't understood?

"You called?" Marcus grinned at him. Henry was trying to catch his breath. He must have come from far away. They were very fast to respond, and therefore indeed practiced.

Obi kept walking. "Well, I had Thayne do it this first time." They fell in behind him. "While I'm gone, Master will need trusted hands and feet to deliver information between the Rose Office and Mother's room. I've told him about you. You're being assigned to this. Please inform the page office. If they need corroboration, you may let Mister know you need notice sent down."

"Mister?" Henry asked.

"Mister Mitsuhide," Obi clarified. "That is one of his jobs." He said it just because he was glad it wasn't going to be his job this time, and he wanted to pay Mitsuhide back for pushing that on to him these last few days. "But you can't say you're being assigned to Mother, just to Master." They nodded. "Make sure you properly introduce yourselves to the Rose Office and Master so they may know who they're trusting. Thayne," Obi pointed at him with his thumb, "will be with Mother while I'm gone. Be obedient to him." He watched from the corners of his eyes as they gave Thayne serious looks, then they nodded to Obi again. "Ah, and, you may deliver gifts to Mother, but this week, at least, you aren't to disturb her."

"Yes, Father," they both said obediently.

"Off you go, then," Obi said casually, and they took off towards the part of the castle the page's office was in.

Thane followed him quietly for a while, then said, "I was right before, you know. You are a natural."

Obi would have shrugged it off, but it clicked into place with the other pieces he'd been considering that day. Ilena was going to put him in a high place, and Thayne was telling him it was a place he naturally fit into. Obi sighed. "I'm thinking I would rather not be, right now. I'm still not sure I'm ready to fit into that place."

Thayne looked at him, then smiled his secret smile. Obi wanted to wipe it off his face, but held himself still. "Have you been paying attention to the path?" Obi asked him.

Thayne nodded. Obi pointed down a hallway to their right. "Going this way will take you to your quarters. You're in the same wing as Leah and Rio. I thought it best to keep you all together. Here's your key. The room number is on it." Obi handed the key over and Thayne looked at the number, then put the key in a pocket. "You'll have to learn the way later. Maybe one of the ladies can help you to find it. For now, we go this way."

Obi turned to the left, then took the next right. "This is the medical wing." It was a rectangle, with rooms around the perimeter, then a covered hallway area concentrically within the rooms. In the center, as was the case with most of the wings, was an open courtyard, divided into three sections by more covered walkways that joined the opposing long sides of the rectangle. At the ends of the crossing walkways were exits from the wing that took pedestrians out to other parts of the castle. On the left hand side they were walking down, those exits would take one out to the gardens and the herb greenhouses.

"This side," Obi motioned to their left," is the pharmacy, with the gardens on the other side. "That side," he motioned to the right, "is the doctors and surgeons. Doctor Elliot has his laboratory and office in that room." He pointed to a specific set of rooms about at the half-way point on the right-most side of the rectangle from them. "If Mother has need this week, that is where you must go to fetch him. He'll be standing close by until he's satisfied that the graft has been accepted. He says a rejected graft is a very serious thing and will need his immediate attention." Thayne nodded soberly, marking the office well.

They were nearing the end of the side they'd been walking down. "These doors," Obi indicated a set of doors that had two guards set on it, "are the entrance to the pharmacy proper. This is where Ryuu, the head pharmacist, and Mistress work. I don't know how much time Mistress plans to spend here this week, but if she wants to work here, bring her without her knowing it." They turned the corner and began to walk up the short leg of the wing.

Half-way up was another guarded door. Obi stopped in front of it. "Sailte, Hue, this is Thayne. He's standing for me while I'm gone. Do not interrupt his work." They nodded and looked at him closely. Thayne nodded a greeting to them, and looked them over as well. Obi paused, then added, "The two brats from this morning are being assigned as pages between the Rose Office and here. Feel free to confirm they are on Master's business if you think they are here for fun." The guards nodded. Hue's eyes sparkled. He thought it would be fun to have them come by to visit now and again.

Obi took a breath. He considered not entering for fear his presence would wake Ilena up. Then he realized that was just an excuse. She would have already heard him talking, even with the door closed, and probably from most of the way down the wing. She would not be pleased with him if he left without saying goodbye. He'd learned that from Master and Mistress. Not that that had stopped him before, but he still had to introduce Thayne to Mistress. He nodded to Sailte, who knocked on the door, waited a pause, then opened it.

Obi led Thayne into the room. It felt small again, because they'd decided to leave Ilena's bed in the middle of it. They would move her back against the wall after Doctor Elliot declared her secure. Shirayuki and Rio were in the room. Shirayuki had a book in her hands, as always, and Rio was hand stitching some cloth. Obi noticed Ilena was still breathing peacefully, but he was sure she was already beginning to rouse. It didn't make him happy. He would rather she stayed asleep. With a strange presence in the room with them, now, she surely wouldn't be able to until her street sense was satisfied.

Shirayuki stood when they entered. "Obi, was your trip successful, then?"

Obi nodded, "Yes, Mistress. This is Thayne of Wexford. Thayne, this is Shirayuki, Ilena's mistress." He remembered what title she had claimed for herself in cases like this.

Thayne bowed respectfully. "Mistress Shirayuki. Please take care of me."

Obi saw Ilena shift her hand slightly and the corners of her lips seemed to pull up a little. She liked Thayne as well, he could see. That was good. "Mistress, I must leave it to you to instruct Thayne. Rio, I've pointed the way to the wing you are housed in. If you could be sure he understands how to get there?" Rio nodded.

Obi sighed. Ilena was nearing fully awake. He turned and looked at her. "It would be better if you stayed asleep, you know," he scolded her.

Rio hid a smile and Shirayuki looked at him in surprise. "She's awake?"

"Almost. She can't bear to have people in the room she hasn't acknowledged. Go say hello, Thayne."

By the time Thayne was at Ilena's side, she did indeed have her eyes open. "Welcome Thayne," Ilena said thinly, still very weary from her ordeal. But a smile was on her face and in her eyes. "Thank you for coming."

"Mother. ...Mistress Ilena," for some reason using her correct title for his position made him blush. "It's an honor to be asked to serve."

Obi knew it was true. "His own mother, Sallie, said he'd been pining, wishing he could be here in this place."

Ilena looked at Thayne closely. "Have you had a desire fulfilled, Thayne?"

Thayne blushed deeper. "...Yes, Mother."

"That's good. Then it's a full circle." Obi didn't know what that meant for sure, but the words made Thayne's eyes go wide. Ilena let her eyes close briefly. Thayne stepped back, making room for Obi, looking at him expectantly.

Obi sighed internally. He hated saying goodbyes. The one he'd already said earlier was enough for him. He worked up his courage, then stepped to the side of the bed and looked down at Ilena.

"I'm sorry, Obi," she said, "for waking up and making you do this again."

He stared at her for a moment. Then he shook his head with a small, wry grin. "Ah, well. It was inevitable, having to bring Thayne in. Also, I knew I would leave you feeling sad if I didn't come in with him. I didn't need you crying more tears on my account."

She looked at him and smiled. "Thank you for desiring to decrease your own burdens."

"Was that supposed to be a slight?" he furrowed his brows at her.

"No," she continued to hold her smile.

He gave up and his hand reached for hers. He really was going to have to do something about that, having his hands do things without his permission. She accepted his hand and held it warmly, then she gave up and fell back to sleep. When he was sure she was asleep, he let her hand go gently and turned back towards the room.

Shirayuki had her head tucked into her book. That meant she was embarrassed, but her expression was happy. Well, if he'd made her happy, that was alright. Rio was pragmatically back at her sewing. Thayne was watching him with an interesting expression on his face, but Obi couldn't quite interpret it.

"One thing I've learned is, when all else fails, hold her hand and she'll fall asleep. I'm not sure I like the thought of you doing it, but if you need it, now you know, too." Obi told Thayne. "I'll leave you to it."

Thayne bowed. "I will not fail you, Master Obi."

Obi nodded at him, then bowed to Shirayuki. "Mistress."

"Have a safe trip, Obi," she smiled at him.

He bowed to her again, then finally was able to escape the room, though once he was through the door, he paused and looked back. At least with this leaving he was leaving her much better protected than for the first, and...he knew he would be coming back.


	22. Collecting the Second Round of Witness

_Thank you to all my readers. I received a few reviews that some of you are waiting to see an interaction between Izana and Ilena. In my original writing, we don't see that until many more chapters from now (sad to me, too). But I've thought of an important interaction between them that I only hinted at there. I've put it in now and you will see it in the next chapter (23). Yeay!_

 _This chapter has sudden revelations in it, and introduces a character who becomes woven in the story here and there. We are sliding down quickly through the tunnel and a water trap awaits..._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 22 Collecting the Second Round of Witness**

Obi walked into what was indeed a high class eating establishment. It was completely different from either of the other two taverns run by Children of Mother. This one reeked of money. It surprised him. He wouldn't have thought of it at all from his previous experiences, but then he remembered Elandra. Based on everything other than her, he wouldn't have expected her either.

A proper waiter welcomed him, sat him in a seat along the wall as he requested, and took his drink order. Obi ordered from the high end of his personal favorites, glad the castle was covering his expenses. He looked around the room. He'd arrived at the early side of dinner, so there weren't too many other customers at the moment. Quiet conversations were going on between well-dressed ladies and gentlemen, the majority of them middle aged. Obi suspected it didn't ever get very rowdy here.

After a while, a well dressed waitress appeared with his drink and an excellently prepared meal. She was polite, but she didn't stay. He began to eat, wondering at what point he would be helped with his other need. After the first few bites, he decided it wouldn't be all bad if it was after he was done eating. In the end, it was after he ordered his after-dinner drink.

This time his drink was brought to him by a distinguished gentleman, greying about the temples. In manner, he reminded Obi of Tairn and Dane's father, Earl Malkin. "I hope you have enjoyed your meal," the man said. "I am Mister Holloway, owner of this establishment. Is this your first time coming?"

"Yes, it is," Obi said. "The food was quite excellent, thank you."

"If there is anything I can do for you?" Mister Holloway asked.

It seemed to Obi that this place must be, at best, an undercover location. It was no wonder Ilena had given him a specific thing to say. "Well, actually, there is. I'm about to embark on a trip, but it's to a place I haven't been yet. I was hoping to find a guide who might be able to go with me, or at least who could tell me about the place before I leave. Would you be able to help me?"

"Hmm…," Mister Holloway considered. "I might be able to. One of my customers is a merchant, and he happens to be here tonight. Perhaps he will have travelled to where you're going. I shall go and ask him if he will speak with you."

"Thank you very much," Obi said gratefully. He hoped that would be the right person. He had no idea where to say he wanted to go. Then on the heels of that thought, he knew instinctively where to say, though he didn't know if anyone else in the Family would know of Ilena's ties to that place.

He sipped his drink and watched as Mister Holloway walked to another table across the room and spoke with another man, probably in his mid-thirties. That man nodded, stood, and followed Mister Holloway back to Obi's table. Obi stood to receive him politely. "This is Raine Lowen. He has consented to speak with you."

"Thank you very much," he said to both of them and Mister Holloway left them to their conversation. Obi asked Raine to sit, sitting himself.

"So, this is the new young lord I heard about today," Raine said. "You've just come to the castle today, and already you're leaving?"

Obi raised his eyebrow. He wasn't quite sure what Raine was talking about, but decided to play along. "Yes, well, I was just there for a brief visit this afternoon. I have business elsewhere I must attend to. I was hoping you could help me with it?"

"I hope I'm able to. I have travelled extensively as a merchant. Where is your business?"

"Well, it is along the north road in various places, but I was also hoping I could hear a little about Selicia. I've heard they have a fruit very similar to oranges, though less tart and more sweet. I was wondering if that was a product that could be procured and shipped to Clarines, say...at least to Castle Wilant."

"Hmm…," Raine rubbed his chin. "I've tried that fruit myself. It is indeed very good. It is also a delicate fruit, not suited to transport through the mountains, except at the height of the warm season. You're asking at the right time, though. If I sent a party now, it would be able to bring one shipment that would arrive at the castle towards the end of the summer. That is a bit of an expensive proposition, however for one box of fruits that are similar to what we have here."

"Are there other products of Selicia that could be brought and sold to cover some of the expense?"

Raine smiled. "You are familiar with the trade of merchanting, I see. Well, yes, there are, of course. Hmm...I could bring you one crate of mikan but it would be less expensive if you could order several. The fruits are fairly small, easy to peel, and can be eaten very quickly. Even three crates would hardly satisfy if there is more than one or two in your house you would be sharing them with."

Obi considered him, and wondered if he could expense it to the castle. "How much for three crates, then?" Raine named a price. Obi blinked. He couldn't help it. "Hahh...that is rather a lot for just a different variety of oranges, isn't it. How much for two crates?" Raine named another price that was more than two-thirds the original cost for three. Obi was not surprised. "How well do they store? If I were to hold back a crate, how long would it last for?"

Raine considered. "We'll have to purchase them still green off the tree so that they ripen slowly during the transport. That will affect the quality a little bit, but only native Selician's who've had freshly ripe ones would notice the difference. If they were kept cool, they might be able to be stored up to another month past the time they were delivered, I would think, though you would want to be careful to check them daily or every other day and pull any that looked like they were molding or shrivelling."

"Only a month…," Obi couldn't see paying for three crates for only a month of potential eating.

"Well, they tend to be eaten quickly, as I said. It might be hard to get even three to last that long." Raine was trying to drive a hard bargain.

Obi shook his head. "I think I would have to settle on two crates. We could eat the first with abandon, perhaps, but the second would have to do for the rest of the month."

Raine smiled. "Done. I actually have a caravan preparing to go that way in the next week or so. I will add it to the list of things to have my agent pick up." He paused, tilted his head, and asked, "Is the interest in this fruit for any particular reason?"

"It's Mother's favorite," Obi said neutrally, watching Raine as he took the last sip from his after-dinner drink.

Raine was a consummate merchant. The only reaction he had was to freeze very briefly with a slight widening of the eyes. But that was enough of a reaction for Obi. He put his cup down. "Now, as to my other business on the north road. Will you be joining me?"

"Ah, yes, I think I would be. I understand you prefer to travel quickly."

"Yes, I do. I will need to change clothing to proper travel clothes before we leave. I anticipate we will travel most of this night before stopping. Can you keep up?"

Raine shook his head. "That won't be necessary. If you're done here, I would be happy to show you to my office."

Obi looked at him surprised, then nodded and stood. The waiter who had seated him walked over. He said that Mister Holloway had instructed him to let Obi know what the charge was, as it was his first time there, and named a price. Obi handed it over, memorizing it for next time, if there was a next time. This was too expensive a place to come on his own purse.

Raine had a carriage, and he rather forcefully suggested that Obi tie his horse to it and ride with him. Obi could only oblige. He was almost starting to wonder if he was being kidnapped. As they entered the carriage, Obi asked him the question that had been burning in him since Raine had been introduced to him. "Are you, perchance, related to Mitsuhide Lowen?"

Raine smiled as he sat down opposite Obi. "Yes. I'm his cousin. Our fathers were brothers. Mother gave me to know she was wooing me specifically because of my relation to him. Ours is, for the most part, a business relationship. Fortunately for her, I'll be charging her less for this business we'll be conducting next because you've made it a lucrative night for me."

Obi groaned slightly. "I shall be sure to let her know that her mikan should be treasured, then."

Raine gently laughed. "I think that if they're her favorite, she will already do that." Obi agreed. She probably would. At least, he hoped so. "Because you were able to give Grandfather a three day notice, most of the people have already arrived here in the city. We're still waiting for the farthest out person to arrive. We expect them to be here midmorning. If you would rather meet that person at the crossroads you waited at last time, we can let them know we'll be doing that. Then if they arrive there first, they'll wait for us to get there. Which would you prefer?"

"How long will it take to get everyone moving in the morning?" Obi asked while trying to wrap his brain around the sudden speed of his job. He had a sudden thought. "And, can we stop at a soldier's station in town along the way to your office this evening?"

Raine nodded and called an order to his driver, then considered. "There are twenty people already here - and three more coming tomorrow - so it will take us about an hour to be ready to go, I would think, from the time we rise. We'll be going by caravan, so it should only take a few hours to get to the crossroads."

"Hmm…," Obi frowned. "That's more total people than last time, for fewer names given. But I'm most concerned about your caravan. I can't allow any of your drivers to travel with us once we're on that crossroad. And I can't guarantee when you'll be able to get your wagons and horses back."

"Of course," Raine said smoothly. "The cost of the rental of the wagons and teams is included in the charge to Mother. They'll be needed to return the Children to their homes when they may return."

"Ah, I see." Obi said. "But that's an entire caravan season's worth of time."

Raine smiled. "This caravan is transporting people, rather than goods. The wagons and teams will be gone the same amount of time as if it were goods. The profit is the same to me."

Obi looked at him, amazed. Then shook his head. "Very well. Thank you for your assistance. I think I would like to meet the remaining group at the crossroads." Raine tipped his head in acknowledgement.

The carriage pulled to a stop and Raine looked out the window. "We've arrived at your requested stop."

Obi looked too, then stepped out of the carriage, leaving Raine behind to wait. He went into the town guard station and walked into the head's office with only a perfunctory knock on the door. The on-duty sergeant looked up at his knock. As had been happening to Obi since he'd put his costume on, he wasn't recognized. He pulled out his Regent's Messenger badge. "I need to send an urgent message. Please have a soldier take it immediately and directly to the castle message office. May I have paper and pen?" The sergeant nodded and searched his desk, handing Obi a small stack of paper, then a pen and ink. He rose and headed out his door to find someone who could take the message.

Obi quickly wrote a note to Captain Garen telling him how many people would be coming, and informing him they would be there by dinner the next night, and that there would be more wagons and horses to house. They might want to consider building another barn just for the wagons to be protected - they were rentals, after all.

He folded the message, then folded another piece of paper around it and wrote the code name for Falcon's Hollow on it, and added the symbol for immediate delivery. Messages to and from Falcon's Hollow went by bird, so that a human wouldn't be tempted to give away the location, and the bird went to the guard station, not the quarters themselves, in case the birds were tracked.

When he was done, he walked back out of the office and found the sergeant again. He was standing next to a guard who was ready to go. Obi handed the paper over. "If you can't deliver it, destroy it, but you aren't going that far, so it should be okay. Just take it to the castle message office." The guard nodded and headed at a trot out the door. "Thank you, Sergeant." Obi said, then left and returned to the carriage waiting outside.

"Ready, then?" Raine asked as Obi sat back down in the carriage.

Obi nodded. "Thank you for stopping." Raine waved it away.

Very shortly, the carriage stopped again. This time Raine led the way out of the carriage and held the door for him. "Welcome to the offices of Lowen and Crane Trading Company. My partner is also not one of Mother's Children. I handle the northern routes, and he the southern and water routes."

Obi followed him into the building. Raine took him past the outer business offices and upstairs to the third floor of the four story building. "The lower two floors are actually one tall floor behind the offices," Raine told him conversationally. "That is where we keep the cargo in transit and the wagons. There's a stable behind where we keep the teams that we're preparing for the current caravan. The top floor is my living quarters and rooms for the drivers to stay in when they're in town. This floor is for when we have passengers traveling with the caravan."

Obi could see that it was divided like an inn would be, with bedrooms on either side of a hall, but before that, just at the top of the stairs, was a larger anteroom where the travelers could gather while waiting for departure. There was also a small kitchenette in the far corner of the room. Several women were washing dishes as if the group gathered in the room had just finished eating their dinner. The entrance of Obi and Raine caused a hush to come over the room. Obi counted nine adults, four teenagers, and seven children. Quietly he asked Raine what the complement of those still coming was.

"Two adults and one infant."

Obi nodded and moved to step forward. Raine stopped him. "I'll remove myself to my rooms. We'll begin preparing the wagons at first light. There's a room here for you for the night, if you wish it. Your horse is being seen to and your bags should be brought up shortly."

"Thank you," Obi said. "I'll stay here."

Raine bowed himself out, heading back downstairs first, and Obi turned back to the room. Everyone was now sitting quietly in family groups, waiting for him. Obi suddenly wished he could have changed first before visiting with them. It was harder to get into the character of 'Father' wearing finery. Then, remembering Dane and Thayne's advice to just be himself, he mentally shrugged.

"Hello," he smiled his disarming smile at the group. "This is quite unexpected for me. Last time I didn't have Grandfather's help. This time I've received so much help I'm feeling a bit lost." There were kind grins from the adults in the group. "Thank you for being willing to travel to me. It's been very helpful. However, not knowing who is who, I'll just have to call down my list. When you hear your name and we've had the chance to meet, please introduce me to whomever you've brought with you. After we've all met, I'll have a few things to say, then we can all get a good night's rest before tomorrow's journey. Mister Lowen tells me they'll begin preparing wagons at first light, and we'll meet the last family on the way."

He called the first name on his list. A ruddy man stood. "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

Obi paused, a sudden emotion choking him, then said, very gently, "Mother has sent me for you." Even the children went still, sensing the reaction of the adults.

The man paused, not sure he wanted to interrupt Obi's attempt to recover. "Go ahead," Obi said gently. The man introduced his wife and five children - two teens, and three younger children. Obi greeted them as well so that he could remember their names, thanking them for letting their father bring them with him.

The man sat down and Obi called the second name on his list. The same process was repeated for each of the names, with one person not being present, being the one they would pick up the next day. When they were done, there were three single adults, one married couple that, like Roy and Betty, seemed to be a duo that had received aliases, two of the adults were married and had children - one being the first man called - and one was an adult man with children but no spouse.

"I'm pleased to meet all of you," Obi said. "I look forward to traveling with you tomorrow. So that you may know, the place you're going is in the countryside with sufficient open space for the children to run and explore. There's a boundary we ask that you not cross for your protection, but it's not difficult. There are already eleven adults, two teenagers, and four children there who are waiting for your arrival. I'm sure they'll help you to feel welcome very quickly. When we meet up with the final family, we'll be leaving the north road and heading down a crossroad. At that point no one but you and myself may travel with us. I would ask that anyone with experience driving a wagon please assist with driving our wagons to your new summer vacation home." He paused. "I'm sure that you wish to hear about Mother. Please be patient until you arrive tomorrow for me to be able to tell it to you."

There was a knock on the wall and Raine put Obi's bag just inside the room. Obi nodded his thanks and Raine left again, this time going upstairs to his rooms.

"That's all I have to say at this time. If I could be pointed to an empty room, I would really like to get out of this costume now that my real clothes have arrived." He got sympathetic grins from several of the men and teenage boys, and surprised looks from many of the women who probably thought that was what he looked like all the time. "Next time I tell Grandfather we aren't meeting at the Green Bottle. Master is going to die when he looks at the bill for this trip. And it's even going to be a shorter one than last time." This time he got a few chuckles.

One of the older teens stood and collected Obi's bag and his mother led Obi down the hall to one of the rooms at the end. Obi was glad it was a corner window room. Those were the one's he could sort of breathe in. An inner room he couldn't at all. He thanked them by name as they left, then he changed quickly into his comfortable traveling clothes.

When he was done, he rested on the edge of the bed, his arms resting on his knees. "Haahh...Mother, I'm not sure this is really better. Will they be able to trust me if they haven't had the time and experiences to learn who I am?" For a moment, his heart cried out for her. He held the rosebud, twirling it by the stem between his fingers. It wasn't going to last much longer. They never did. He pulled out the fragrant green with his other hand and held it to his nose and breathed in it's scent. He knew from working with Mistress that it would dry over time and still retain the scent. He was glad Ilena had given him both. He sat a moment longer, then took a deep breath and put the two plants back into his jacket buttonhole as he walked to the door. He wanted to spend time in the common room talking to people. It would at least pass some of the night away. He wasn't likely to be able to sleep even after that, though.

-o-o-o-

The next morning, Obi was up and readying his bag as soon as he heard the wagoners above him preparing to begin hitching up their teams. He was the first to arrive in the common room. Putting his bag near the stairs, he put water on to boil, then walked up and down the hall knocking on doors to let everyone know it was time to wake up. By the time he had the morning tea made, Will and Francis, this trip's aliased couple, had come out as well, each carrying a bag. They put them down near his and joined him in the kitchen. They immediately began pulling out dishes and preparing a simple meal, explaining that they (also) ran an eating establishment in one of the smaller towns so were used to this kind of schedule and work. Obi had wondered. They'd gone to bed early enough he hadn't had time to talk with them the night before.

As he sipped his cup of tea, they told him they had arrived two days before, in the middle of the day, about the same time most of the people who lived outside of town had arrived. Those who had been in town to begin with had come just yesterday, wrapping up their work since they could come more last-minute. The two families with children had come in the evening the day before just before dinner as they'd taken the longest time to get everyone together. The single father with his children had been in town, like Rose, so had also arrived earlier the day Obi had arrived.

The other single adults were the next to arrive in the kitchen and they poured themselves cups of morning tea. One woman helped to get eating utensils and plates out. The smells of breakfast were beginning to make Obi hungry. He hoped it was making the kids hungry as well. It would help wake them up. A little while later, he heard the first little patter of feet coming down the hall. He leaned out from the table where he was sitting to look down the hall. It was one of the little girls.

"Good morning, Alexis!" he said cheerfully. "Are you hungry? Breakfast is just about ready. Francis is there juice for the littles this morning?" The little girl had stopped and was looking at him solemnly.

Francis smiled at him and poured a glass of juice and handed it to him. He put it on the table in front of his place, then stood up. Bowing to Alexis he said, "Your Highness's juice is ready. May I help you into your throne, Princess." Alexis' eyes lit up and she ran to jump into his vacated chair. "Monsignor Will, is the Princess's plate ready yet?"

Will glanced over at them and smiled. "In just a moment, Your Highness."

Alexis smiled and kicked her legs happily as she drank her juice. "And did you sleep well enough, Princess Alexis?" Obi asked her.

She nodded. "I got to sleep with Mommy. She doesn't turn and kick like Sarah."

"Ohh, then you got good sleep. That's good. We have travelling to do today again. Are you ready?"

"Mmmm" she said noncommittally. "Are there any kitties where we're going?"

"Hmm…" Obi thought about it. "I don't know. But there is a stable with horses, so there probably are mice. Where there are mice, there are bound to be kitties, don't you think?"

"Well, maybe. Horsies would be okay. I don't like mice, though."

"Yeah, I don't either. They eat my things up and make them into their beds. It wasn't fun the day I lost my favorite scarf to a family of mice. I was very sad."

"Yeah. Mommy hates them, too. They ate her favorite winter skirt last fall."

Obi shook his head. "That's too bad."

The sound of other youngster feet could be heard coming down the hall. "Don't run!" called the already frazzled mother. She had the youngest, a two year old, in her arms. Her husband was behind them carrying the bags.

"Quick!" Obi called the other two children. "Come hide behind me!" They ran past him, then turned back around and clustered between him and Alexis. "Good morning Princess Sarah, Prince Peter. Are you ready for your juice this morning as well?" Francis was already putting the glasses on the table.

George, one of the single men, was bringing over another chair that he set at the end of the table, around the corner from Alexis. Obi picked up Peter and set him in that chair with his juice. "Your Highness. Juice for you. Monsignor Will says the food will be ready shortly." Peter gaped at Obi for a moment, then saw Alexis' contented face. He shrugged and picked up his cup. "And Princess Sarah, here is your juice." Obi put it in front of Sarah who had climbed up in the seat next to Alexis.

"Thank you," Sarah said politely.

"You're very welcome," Obi bowed properly to her. Her eyes got wide.

"Are you from the castle?" She asked. "You were dressed very nice yesterday when you came."

Obi smiled. "Yes, I am, actually. But I only wear those clothes on special occasions. Like when I get to meet a Prince and Princesses like you."

The girls looked at him in awe. Peter looked more like he disbelieved him.

"Are there any other girls where we're going?" Sarah asked him.

"Yes, one a little older than you. She'll be very happy to have you two Princesses join her. So far it's only her two little brothers and another little boy, though there is a teenage girl who watches them."

Peter perked up. "Two boys?"

Obi nodded. He could hear another group of young people headed down the hall so he held his next comment until they could hear it, too. "Yes, three boys, an uncle, an older brother, and a grandpa. All of them working on carving out a couple of caves up in the rocks. One for the boys to have as a fort, the other for the girls to play house, or whatever they want."

"Woot!" It was one of the older boys from the single father family which tended to more rambunctiousness. "Sweet! Caves!"

Obi looked into worried parent's eyes. He smiled. "Don't worry. The stoneworker Robert of Pence is the one working on the caves. They'll be as safe as safe can be." The parents relaxed. "You guys can help out when you get there," he said to the boys - two teens and an older child.

The early adults had vacated the chairs at the table and the younger boy snagged a seat. Francis handed out glasses of juice and tea and refilled the earlier set. Obi continued to entertain the children, and the last family arrived shortly, rounding out the group. Children filled the last set of chairs at the table and full plates were handed round. The group thanked the cooks and made the plates empty again quickly. When the meal was done, the mothers quickly washed up the dishes and several others dried and put them away, everyone helping with the chores as if they were already a Family group.

They were just about done with the dishes when Raine came up the stairs to announce the wagons were ready. The men and teens not helping with dishes gathered up bags to carry down. Obi got the regiment of children put together and marching down the stairs. They found a full caravan getting ready. Three wagons were waiting for the family members. Obi put Sarah, Peter, and Alexis in one wagon, having Sarah hold the baby that he'd carried down. He had the other family, being three children and two teens in the second wagon. Then he put the three older boys in their wagon. He had the single woman go with Sarah and Alexis' family, the two single men with the boys. That made it roughly seven per wagon, with the ones they'd be picking up going in the last wagon, bringing it's total to slightly more than that.

His horse was saddled and waiting with the wagons. He rubbed Fenrier's nose, pulled his bag from the pile, and tied it onto the back of the saddle. Then, just because, he went back and hugged Fenrier's neck. He wanted to climb on a roof. Instead he climbed onto the back of his horse. He wanted to run with it. Instead, he waited patiently. When the last of the dishwashers came down, he told them their assigned wagons and they climbed in.

Raine came up to him. "If you want to get going, you could have your men go ahead and drive them now. Or you can wait and go disguised with the full caravan." He winked.

"How much longer before the caravan goes?" he asked.

"Probably another hour," he admitted.

Obi nodded. "Then we'll go ahead and go."

Raine gave him directions for getting out of the city from where his office was, which of course was convenient to the gate since he was a merchant. Obi thanked him one more time, then called for everyone's attention and let them know they would be leaving now, and would one volunteer per wagon take the reins? When each wagon had a driver, Obi led the way through the streets to the gate and onto the North Road headed west. His horse danced once they were on the road. Fenrier wanted a morning run. Obi patted him. He did too, but it wouldn't happen that day.

He spent the trip to the South Road paying close attention to the road around them, looking for signs of ambush or attack, because he should, and taking turns to talk to everyone as they went, because he wanted to keep himself distracted. He had decided to not push the speed at this point. It was likely they'd have to wait again. He was surprised again when they arrived at the crossroads to find that the little family was already waiting for them.

He waved the wagons to turn down the South Road before stopping and rode up to the family. It was a young man, his young wife, and an infant. He was a bit surprised they were so young, but he figured he probably shouldn't be. He welcomed them in the name of Mother as was required, then asked them to climb into the last wagon, and thanked them for being ready to be picked up so early, apologizing for their hardship and the wait. They waved it off and settled in. The little caravan got going again and Obi talked to them for a while, getting to know them.

He headed to the front of the line, thinking about what path to take and 'feeling' the road. There was a good ambush site ahead, and it wasn't a secret from last time they'd taken this road, as given by even Raine knowing it. Just past that point, they could take a detour to the inn the first group had eaten dinner at, and it was getting close to lunch time. He couldn't feel anything ahead just yet. He dropped back to the back and worked his way up the line, quietly telling each driver they were going to take the next stretch at a run, then make the turn, and pick the speed back up again. The excuse he told them was that the little kids were getting hungry and lunch was far enough ahead they needed to put a move on. On his signal, the wagons, in order, picked up the pace to a fast clip. They did have to slow some to take the corner, but he kept up the pace until they were getting close to the village that had the inn.

He had the wagons slow to cool the horses down and went ahead into the town to check and make sure things were clear there. As he was just entering the town square, a tall youth saw him and came running up to him. He stopped and the youth grabbed his saddle. "Father, you need to keep going. You're being expected at the inn, and it isn't good."

Obi looked at him closely. It was really too bad they hadn't taught him how to recognize Mother's Children yet. But he looked like he was telling the truth. "Everyone's hungry," he answered back. "And we've no food with us."

The youth chewed on his lip. "Detour them around town to the north. Ma'll feed them. I'll catch up to you in a second."

Obi nodded and turned his horse around. Sadly, he thought he'd been seen. They might not get to stop even at the lad's mother's house. But as he left the square, he could hear a commotion. Maybe the person who had seen him was being kept quiet? He ran the horse back to the wagons and waved them onto the little lane that split to the north. "We've got trouble waiting for us in town. We're going to an alternate lunch option - which means eating while we travel, I suspect." A few of the women looked troubled, but no one complained. He had the drivers pick up the pace a bit again, though this small country road was a bit more dangerous to travel at high speeds.

Pretty soon the youth he'd seen earlier came crashing through the trees in front of him. Obi leaned down and pulled him up onto his horse and rode up to the side of the last wagon. "William, is he legitimate?" He asked the father of the teen boys.

William looked at the youth, then smiled. "Yes, he is Father."

"Thanks." He kicked the horse to the front of the line. "Tell me when to turn off," he said over his shoulder. "Did you delay the spy who saw me?"

The youth nodded. "The other Children, they're making it difficult for the enemy to get out of the inn. They'll keep the road clear, too, until you've passed beyond far enough, but you should take the next detour you can to get off that road. We thought we got them all last time you went through, but we missed one. You'll have to take this town off your list for next time."

Obi shook his head. "We'll be doing the last set different anyway. Probably won't ever see you again. But thanks for your help, and let everyone else know, too."

The boy shrugged. "Mother's got a regular route. You'll learn it eventually."

"She actually sees everyone? Most of the first set hasn't seen her since she adopted them."

"No, she has certain places she visits regular. Most of the ones you're collecting she's been protecting by _not_ visiting them. Likely she dying to see them again."

"Yeah, likely she is," Obi said.

"Turn left here. The house is just up there."

Obi obediently turned his horse up the narrow passage between the trees, watching before and behind as they went. As the way opened up into an area surrounding the small house, he had the wagons turn around so they were facing the lane they'd come up, in preparation to head back out.

"Please stay in the wagons. The Family in town is keeping the attempted delay delayed. We shouldn't put any more strain on them than we have to."

The boy had slid off as soon as the horse was just still enough to not step on him and run into the house. Now he came back out and asked for help from two. The two oldest teen boys jumped down out of the third wagon and ran into the house. In just a little while, the three of them came back out with large baskets of fruit and bread and three large wheels of cheese. They handed them into the first wagon and ran back inside. The teens in the first wagon and their mother quickly divvied up the food and ran the portions to the other two wagons. The three came back out with two jugs of liquids each, giving two to each wagon. Obi would have been grateful if it was just water.

He reached into his pouch and pulled out enough to cover the food and a little more and rode up to the youth. "Thank your family. And here, this is to make sure you'll make it through the winter. Mother would pay you in her way but it will be faster if I just do it now in mine." Obi's eyes said he wouldn't accept refusal.

The boy took it and thanked him, then Obi got them going again, turning left to continue on the north detour. "Hold the food until we're where we can slow back down," he instructed as they went. "Would hate to waste it with spillage, when it was half their winter savings. How many swords do we have?" All the men, all the teens, and all the women raised their blades. Obi was very surprised. "Well, then. By all means use them if you need to. Children, to the center of the wagons and lie down and play hide-and-seek until I tell you you can come out. Millie, you lie down, too, with the little one. She'll stay quiet that way." The young new mother nodded and moved to be obedient. Her husband looked at Obi gratefully. "Teens, sit down and around the littles. Hide the fact you've got blades until your opponents are close enough to surprise attack and win against."

One of the teen boys waved Obi over. "Take me up to the first wagon. The kids there don't have a guardian." Obi held out his hand to steady him for the step over to the horse, then trotted up and he crossed back over into the wagon with Sarah, Peter, and Alexis. "Hello Prince and Princesses. I'm your guard for the next part of the trip. I'll keep you safe," he said. Obi smiled at him. He must have overheard Obi at breakfast that morning.

He was called back by George in the last wagon. "They need another man there, too. Take me up." Obi nodded. That was just a little trickier since George was an older man and not quite so nimble, but they managed and got him into that wagon. After a bit of discussion about skills and experience, he stayed as sword for the wagon.

Obi's senses were heightened. Nothing was on or around the road they were on. He moved far enough ahead that he could warn the wagons in time to stop or run, whatever was needed, but he was careful to not get too far ahead. When they got back to the main road, he pulled off on the town side and waved them to turn away from the town, keeping at high alert. He did briefly see a head pop up that waved a signal, but William, who had seen it also, said it was one of theirs. The enemy wasn't on the road in their direction from town yet.

Obi had them pick up the pace to as fast as the horses could go and still continue for the whole trip. Now he was worried about which detour to take. How far had they been followed last time? He didn't want to take any of the south detours now. That would put them too far from the house...but he also didn't want to go straight to the house from here. If someone did follow them that could be very bad.

When they approached the next crossroads, another head popped up. Obi sighed. Did the Family already know where the witnesses were being kept, or was it just because they were still near the town? He moved ahead of the wagons again to talk to this head, because it looked like it wanted to talk to him. This time it was a teenage girl, thin as thread. Her face was very serious. "You've got enemies on both roads, but they are expecting the main road straight ahead. I've already sent the few who could come up the north road to start picking them off. Head that way. ...and then I'd recommend straight to the house. Not because they won't follow you, but because we've got a message on it's way to the guard house. If you head for the house, you'll get reinforcements faster."

The wagons were to the crossroad and Obi waved them north. "How do you guys know where it is?"

"We live here," she grinned at him. "Can't keep things secret when you're busy running all over the place around here."

"Well, I guess I'm glad of it, then," Obi said. "Thanks." He rode quickly back up to the wagons. "We can expect an ambush ahead, she said, but it's less than the other option. We've got reinforcements already on their way there." He considered the options. There was the 'run through' method Ilena had suggested with her travel, and they were already moving fast so that might work. But if they had reinforcements, even a few, with as many blades as they had the opposite might almost work just as good. Stop a few feet away from the near edge of the ambush and make them come to them….

Obi whistled the wagons to stop. They were a bit surprised, but were obedient. He had the first wagon shift over to the far right of the road, the second wagon pull up as close to the first as it could, then the third up against the second so that they completely blocked the road from side to side. "It's lunch time, everyone. Kids, you can sit up to eat, but stay where you are, okay?" When he got 'you're crazy' looks from the moms, he smiled. "You know Mother works by doing the unexpected. We're going to give the reinforcements time to whittle down the ambush in front. Then we'll continue slowly in this configuration, the center wagon just a little out in point. If they still want to stop us, we'll charge through. Their horses won't stand against a charging wall. If they decide to come to us, all the littles should go into the center of the center wagon. We'll concentric circle the teens, women, then men around them."

Everyone older than twelve nodded, and they got busy getting the lunch out. Obi stayed on his horse, but he was brought food. Everyone ate quietly. That made Obi feel better, too. They wouldn't draw unwanted attention that way. For as long as they ate, he never felt anything out of place along the road, before or behind. When everyone was ready and things cleaned up, Obi stayed put just a little longer, letting everyone digest a bit. If he could wait just long enough, the soldiers would be that much closer to where they were.

Suddenly he heard a piercing cry he was familiar with. He looked up in the sky and there was one of the blue messenger birds circling high overhead. He smiled. Zen had gifted every one of his aides with the walnut shell bells that called the birds, and then told them they always had to wear it. The soldiers were close and following that bird.

"All, right, everyone. That's our sign. Let's go at a slow walk. That will give them time to get even closer. When I give you the signal, I want you to yell and make as much noise as possible. We'll do a vocal attack at the same time we charge through them. That will also tell the soldiers how far they have yet to come to get to us. Once we start the charge, don't stop it until I tell you. That means we'll charge through the soldiers, too. Got it? I'll be behind you so you don't run me over and I don't outrun you. Center wagon out front just a little; side wagons, put your noses at about midrib."

They got going at a walk, the teens making the kids lay down again. The men not driving the wagons took the outer front perimeter, the women backing them up and the teens staying beside the kids. Obi loosened up his throwing knives and his short sword, and kept his ears and eyes to the road in front of them. There was movement in the trees finally. Five men stepped out onto the road facing them. Obi wondered at them for a moment. He caught a brief glimpse of a face and hand those five couldn't see. The hand was giving them the 'thumbs up' sign.

One of the men turned to Obi with a smile. "That's all of 'em." He said quietly enough the men in front couldn't hear. Obi smiled back. "Pick it up to a fast waltz, keep in time. Don't stop. As a matter of fact, act like you don't see or hear them until we are just on them. Then shout with one loud voice. If the horses bolt, let them, but keep to the road." The people before him gave tense nods. Obi's horse snorted. It didn't want to be behind the slow wagons, even though they were increasing in speed now. That was another reason he was there. Obi did keep a watch behind them, just in case.

Now the people in front of them were making demands...now they were shouting…now they were highly confused…now everyone on the wagons was shouting as loud as they could, the little kids, too. It was enough to make the infant cry and her noise just added to it all. Three of the five moved fast enough to throw themselves off the road, but two were caught by the outer wagons, and the horses had indeed jumped ahead at the noise. Obi's horse kept up just fine. He threw a couple of knives at the two who had managed to leap to one side, then turned and threw one more at the one still up on the other side. Then they were gone. He could see their reinforcements slinking out of the trees behind them to finish off the five.

He let the wagon horses keep running and shortly they came to, then passed through, the soldiers. One turned and caught up to him to get orders. "Send a couple further on to see if we can get witnesses to who set up the ambushes - there were multiple. The rest should turn and form up with us. We'll go straight to the house." The soldier nodded, then fell back to relay the orders. Shortly the beat of the soldiers horses coming up behind them got near. Obi called ahead for the wagons to slow and return to a staggered single file. As they got into the new configuration, the soldiers surrounded them. Once there were enough at the tail end, Obi moved up to the front again. Everyone gave him grins as he passed, and he grinned right back.

There was no further incident on the way, but Obi remembered Ilena's other comment...that one should always be prepared for the second surprise ambush, so he didn't relax until they were finally inside Falcon's Hollow. That was a noisy affair. All the kids running up and people calling to the house and even some trying to yell loud enough to be heard up by the caves. Obi decided to stay on his horse until things calmed down a little. He might be heard better if he needed to say anything.

A larger portion of the soldiers had peeled off at the station, going back to the road and back down towards the town. He'd told them what had happened, that both at the inn, and along the next main road down had also been other ambushes set up. Once the witnesses were considered safe, it was necessary to investigate further. Obi was glad there weren't too many extra horses around with all the people going here and there.

He leaned on his pommel, watching everyone mingle, a smile on his face. Millie was as excited as Sarah that there was another girl her age to play with, and was doing a good job of including Alexis, too. The boys, new and old, were already making plans to go up to the caves. Obi sidled over. "Make sure you ask your moms," he told them. "They'll worry otherwise. And Mat, make sure you explain the rules about where they can and can't go, okay." He looked at the new boys. "Make sure you follow that one rule over all the others, okay? It's the one that keeps you and your parents safe." They got serious and nodded at him.

When he nudged his horse away, he could hear them beginning to tell their story of what had happened on the way in. While he wasn't interested in becoming a hero, so he hoped they didn't do that to him, it had been exciting, and as Ilena had said before, fun - because the plan had worked and none of the people he was caring for had been hurt. Still...even this trip had been very haphazard. He finally decided it must be because of the lack of communication, even as it had been before. If he had know it was going to be such a caravan, he would have had a guard detail to begin with. And, if he had known they would need lunch food on the way, he would have had some available. He sighed. He also needed Ilena to initiate him into the Family. There had been at least three times that if he hadn't had an interpreter available, and one he hadn't at the first, he could have gotten them into great trouble if he'd trusted someone he wasn't supposed to.

Someone touched his leg. He looked down. It was Foster, looking up at him. "Do you want to go inside and rest? I'll water your horse." Foster offered.

"I'd rather you came and joined me," Obi said. "Is there someone else who can take the horse?"

Foster looked at him curiously. "Yes. If you'll let me, I'll take him in and pass him off. Shall I leave your bag on him?"

"Yes. I won't stay long, though I could since we got here so much faster than I expected."

"You shouldn't. We'll take care of them. What you should do is get back."

Obi nodded and slipped down off his horse, promising Fenrier they'd run for real in a little bit.

Captain Garen had been waiting for the chaos to die down and for Obi to come down from his horse as well. He walked over as Foster took the horse towards the stable. "I was glad your message came before the word came that your path was blocked. If I hadn't gotten it we wouldn't have believed the other message."

Obi nodded. "They surprised me in the village, too. I asked the second one who popped up if everyone knew where this place was. I'm not sure they _all_ do, but all her Children who live in the area do. She said the circuitous route we took the first time alerted all of them we were in the area, and it wasn't hard for them to figure out where we'd ended up. In her words, 'we live here'! And the first boy who caught me going into town and rerouted us said that we'd been given away the first time by the stop at the inn. He said they'd tried to filter out all the spies on their way out of town, but likely missed one."

"So, it worked, then?" Captain Garen asked, folding his arms.

"Yes. If we've drawn out all the possible ambushers in this round, and can get hold of enough prisoners who will talk. We've seen what they'll do for themselves, and I've also got a good handle on the weaknesses in the system, I think."

"Good." The captain looked fairly satisfied.

"Did you know they'd armed themselves to the man, woman, and teen? But not the little kids." Obi said approvingly.

"Really!? Did you get to see them in action?"

"No, thank goodness. I think if I hadn't been able to think my way through, Ilena would have washed my ears out with many choice words. I'm sure she'll get a thorough report by sometime next week. We were, after all, under close observation for that test by more than eight men from her Family. They left us five to see what I would do. It was a bare minimum, so it was pretty obvious."

"Ah," was the only comment the captain could give.

"I do hope you're letting them keep their weapons?"

"Yes. They always carry when they go out of the house, and when the boys go up to the caves there's always an extra they don't know about that trails after them. With this many more men and teens, I suspect they'll be a lot less worried about that trip because more can go with them. ...It's actually good this group came so quick. It was getting hard for them to explain to the little boys why Robert couldn't take them up there. You took their two best defenders, you know."

"Yeah, sorry. But these kids are good, too. Just sending the teens will keep them plenty safe, if they aren't directly attacked by the main force."

"Do you expect one?" asked Foster from behind them.

"Yes, Foster...but, then, you lot do too. That's one of the things I want to talk to you about," Obi said without turning around. "Shall we? We'll go to the old lord's office."

He led both of them, asking the folks he passed to collect in the dining room in a half hour, and to spread the word. All but the youngest should be present. When they arrived at the office, Obi sat behind the desk. Both men stood before the desk. It felt strange to Obi to be sitting in the seat he usually expected Master to sit in, and in the same way. He felt a shudder of premonition go through him. Oh, no, not again. He'd just taken another step in the direction Ilena wanted him to go in, and all without thinking about it beforehand. He put his hand over his eyes for a moment. When he looked up again, Foster was smiling at him, though Captain Garen was wondering if he wasn't feeling well.

Obi sighed. "Wipe the grin off your face Foster. Yes, she's winning. That doesn't mean I have to like it yet."

Foster grinned bigger. "I'll tell her that, shall I?"

"No. Not yet. I'll tell her when I'm ready."

"She marked you, you know. You could have asked deeper questions on the way anytime."

"Yeah, I figured that's what it was, but I wanted to see more first. Now I'm ready to ask. And you're one who can answer, I'm assuming. Thayne admitted yesterday afternoon he's an agent, too. That makes you a manager."

"Ah, that's a close enough description, I suppose. Area captain might be closer, though."

Obi nodded. "Is she expecting to keep this place? And are the lot of you anticipating staying for good to run it?"

"Wow. Jump right to the deep questions, is it?"

"Master already figures it, too. The pattern was too obvious in just the first set of you, and how fast Robert got to work on the caves."

"Well, if you've got that much info, then yes. To both. There will be some who'll go home, but the majority already have signed up long ago."

"But that begs the question about all the wagons and horses. Are they really rentals or is she going to keep them?"

Foster grinned. "I don't know. She doesn't tell anyone _all_ of her plans, you know. But she does intend to make this a horse ranch."

Obi's eyebrow went up. "She really does? It doesn't have quite enough land for that does it?"

Foster shrugged. "That's part of the things I don't know."

Obi thought a bit longer. "The lack of communication thing is annoying. Both times, that has caused problems for us, for me. We can't afford that next time. I'll be bringing them directly here as fast as we can, and leaving as soon as they're past the guards, who'll finish bringing them in. We don't want anything interrupting the run."

Foster nodded, as serious as Obi. "The testing's over. Once they come attack here directly, everything will be set from our end as well." He paused. "We'll need to know how many you want kept alive. We don't intend to leave any more than that alive when they come. We don't want any coming back."

Captain Garen looked at him, a bit flabbergasted. "Wait. That isn't what you guys look like normally." Foster gave him a wolves' grin. "Yeah, that. I guess there are teeth there. Well, I, for one, am looking forward to what you're all going to do. We'd like a sampling in case they send in waves from different houses, say one or two from each section. And how much involvement do you want from us?"

Foster's wolfish grin remained. "Make it look like you'd had a party to celebrate the end of your work. Then fill up the house. We'd like you to protect the kids and Freida. If we do all the outside work, they'll think three times about coming back."

Captain Garen nodded. Obi smiled. "I told you so. Just because Ilena's Family is full of light, that doesn't mean it doesn't have a dark side, too." His smile dropped and he looked at Foster with a common bond. "You can't live through what we've all lived through and not have one." Foster nodded agreement. Obi all of a sudden realized - _that is why Mother is a moon, not a sun. She has a dark side, too._ A part of him relaxed, having understood that. He wondered briefly if it was as dark as the bright side was ever so bright.

"The other thing I need to know is how to recognize Family. I hit the town watchman alone. I took him with me, but had to get verification after we were already committed to a path that could have taken us right _into_ an ambush. That's not going to fly any more." His dark eyes were piercing.

Foster bowed. "I can do that for you. You can get practice seeing on the folks who are here. But the Captain doesn't get to know."

Obi nodded. Captain Garen looked disappointed, but not surprised.

"Ah, a curiosity, but why the rush this time? I enjoyed having the time to get to know all of you from the first set. I was hard pressed to get the little I did this time." Foster looked a bit caught in a bind. "Ah, don't give me the excuse. You're the kind that can't do it." Obi leaned on his arm. "So I guess I'll say it. They can't not talk to me and there's things you don't want the castle to know yet, that they know. You liked the written option so well, after all. It was easier to edit the stories." Foster reluctantly gave a nod. "Do keep them coming. They make great reading, and they're a nice bedtime story for Master, who needs such things in his life. I can't say you should change it, because I know I'm the one caught in the middle, however, I personally don't like it." He frowned.

Foster paused, then said, "We'll make you an unedited copy and gift it to you at the right time. Would that be sufficient?"

"That would help, but that's not why. ...If I'm supposed to eventually really be 'Father', how can I be that for people who don't know who I really am? Last night and today were barely enough time, honestly. As I see it, it's only going to get harder to have time to talk to folks individually like we did."

Foster looked at Obi fondly. "You know, that's one of the things we find endearing about you."

Obi looked at him surprised, then the tips of his ears turned red. Foster laughed. "It's too late to be embarrassed about it now. I think you'll find the time, Father. It's just not now. It's how Mother feels also. When she visits she is so happy, when she leaves it is always too soon."

Captain Garen shook his head and smiled. "You see, I said it was you yourself as well. Here's an example."

Obi was confused. Then shrugged. It was who he was, and that was supposed to be okay the way it was. "Captain, go ahead and go on down. We'll be there shortly." Captain Garen tipped his head, then turned and left the room.

When the captain entered the dining room, everyone looked over and got quiet. When no one else entered with him, they went back to quiet talking. He took his seat, and looked at the new families. The first arrivals had sprinkled themselves throughout and were answering questions and generally meeting the first set. In some cases the new ones were telling the story of their journey, in particular the teens. The one teen girl, who was the only one other than the staff family daughter, Alice, was getting attention from all the teen boys. Except Peter who, it looked like, had taken one look, turned bright red, and hadn't had the courage to look again. Captain Garen smiled. Peter really did have troubles with women.

Within ten minutes, Obi and Foster entered the room. Obi took center stage as usual, Foster took one of the first chairs available. He repeated what he'd said for the first arrivals. How long they expected it all to take and why, that the captain would be taking their testimonies, repeated the house rules, and reintroduced Bill and Lilly and explained their roles.

"I've already given the news about Mother to those who were already here yesterday, but I can now tell the rest of you." The new arrivals sat up expectantly. "She's alive and in a protected location. Her hip was crushed in the landslide. She has just yesterday undergone an experimental surgery to replace a tendon that under normal circumstances would be unrepairable. Doctor Elliot is optimistic. She sends her love and her gratitude for your willingness to come and to help Master. ...Master has made her his Director of Intelligence for her first appointment."

"Foster has agreed with me that the testing phase is completed. In a little bit, he and the captain will discuss with you what the guarding arrangements of Falcon's Hollow will be. Foster has already told us you wish to bear the brunt of the flood that is coming. While I agree with the philosophy that if the household can prove itself you're likely to be left alone, I'm reluctant to completely agree with the plan he's proposed." In general the eyes of everyone were bugging out. They had really not expected him to be so blunt about what had been going on underneath the surface. "If you're thinking that with the few of you, you'll survive unscathed, that is suicide. They know how many of you there are here, the same as they have a good idea of how many soldiers there are here. So it stands to reason you're expecting help from the Family in the surrounding area. That's fine. We won't stand in the way of that. However, I would rather that you accept a portion of the garrison as brothers-in-arms upon the field. Come to an agreement of just how many are needed to protect the house, then allow the rest to dress as if they were on vacation also."

"I ask this for two reasons. One is because if I must come back for one of you to take you for a funeral, Mother will not recover, nor will I. The second reason is because we expect Little Death users. I expect the lot of you aren't anymore, since you're no longer under the care of Doctor Elliot or Mother. ...Just to be clear, if any of you do use it to get through the fight, you'll be carted to the castle and thrown into the jail. Master and I will not tolerate its use other than for strictly supervised purposes." He could see they understood. It was probably the only order he and Zen had given them directly. "But because we expect them to come, please accept the aid of additional trained swords."

"There will be one newcomer come without me to Falcon's Hollow shortly after I leave. He's one of the court doctors. Captain Garan knows him by sight. I'm sure at least two of you are also medically trained. He's bringing additional supplies with him so that all of you can be effective. The hope is that if there are three or more different stations around the Hollow, you can quickly get an injured comrade to medical attention. I had hoped to run with you as well, but Mother's need is more important than my fun. Perhaps at a later time we may run together. Be well, and stay alive. We'll leave the next step to you."

Obi smiled around the tables, then nodded to Captain Garan, turned and left. He rode hard, both he and Fenrier glad to be doing it, and arrived at the castle in an hour.


	23. Graft Rejection

_Thank you for reading!_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 23 Graft Rejection**

When Obi returned to the castle, he wasn't sure if he should report to Master first or check on Ilena first. He finally settled on checking on Ilena first. He was back earlier than expected. Perhaps Master could forgive him.

As he walked into the medical wing, he heard a door close and saw Hue turning back to his place after pulling Ilena's door closed. Wondering who had gone into the room, Obi's steps quickened. Halfway down the long leg, one of the guards outside the pharmacy entrance caught sight of him. "Sir Obi," he called and urgently motioned to him. "Mister Ryuu and Doctor Elliot've just been called at a run." Obi broke into a mad run, challenging the speed of his own horse. Hue had the door open again by the time he got there, and closed it immediately behind Obi.

Catching the scene in the room in a single glance, he slipped past Ryuu and Shirayuki as he shed his jacket and tossed it on the other bed, and put his hand on Thayne's arm. Thayne looked up at him, then quickly side-stepped out of his way. "Chair," Obi ordered him. Thayne quickly grabbed a chair and pushed it up behind Obi so Obi could sit. Obi had already registered Ilena's pained face and the careful but quick way Doctor Elliot was re-entering the surgery site, his expression one of worried concentration. By the time he was sitting, he already was halfway through his standard count. Then he frowned and put his other hand on top of Ilena's heart itself, and restarted the count. Finally he counted the breathing rate, but for the rest...

"Breathing labored, heartbeat extremely irregular, temperature significantly high." He quickly calculated. She should be past the pain payment and into natural sleep. "Thayne, how long into natural sleep did symptoms start?"

"Her breathing became...labored," he stumbled a little at the medical terminology he wasn't used to, "about an hour and a half into the natural sleep state."

"Did she complain of burning or pain in the lucid phase?"

"Some pain, but she didn't think at the time it was beyond what was expected for the day after the surgery."

Obi nodded. Whether it was confusion, or hadn't set in yet, it would have been the same.

"Obi?" Shirayuki stood next to him her eyes wide in surprise. Then she quickly recovered. "Here, the pain and infection fighting medication. Try to get it down her, like at Osterly." Obi took it and immediately began pouring minute amounts into her. "Thayne, take this cloth and keep her cooled down. Start at her forehead for now. Obi, uncover her as soon as you have hands. We'll need to cool her chest down to prevent damage to her heart."

Obi nodded. "Thayne, watch what I'm doing." Thayne placed the wetted cloth on Ilena's forehead, then watched closely what Obi was doing.

"I've got it," Thayne said when he understood the process. Obi passed the little vial to Thayne, then watched him administer two more drops. That satisfied him Thayne knew how to do it well enough to not drown Ilena. He moved to the other side of her from Thayne and began untying the upper part of her surgery gown. When she was uncovered, he picked up the cloth from her forehead and pulled the water bucket closer to him and began putting water on her chest. He was concerned. He could tell even better now that her breathing was troubled, and the water was evaporating within seconds, even when he was allowing it to dribble on her freely.

"Ah! Mistress, she isn't sweating. For a fever this high, is that normal?" He'd suddenly noticed it.

"Yes, Obi. That's why we need to do it for her." Shirayuki was busy helping Ryuu prepare the glue.

Obi occasionally alternated cooling her chest with putting water on her hot forehead and down her neck. At the ten minute mark he moved to putting water on her with one hand, and held her wrist with the other to get the next count. He announced a count, and shook his head. "But it is still mostly erratic. That's the closest count I can get. No change in temperature." He went back to two handed substitute sweating her.

"Done," Thayne announced.

"Put the vial on Mistress's tray," Obi told him. He waffled a moment, then gave up. "Sit in the chair and hold her hand. She gets slightly lucid at times like this and it helps her. I need both my hands for this." He showed Thayne how to feel her pulse and taught him how to do the count, doing it with him at the next ten minute mark so there was a corroborative number, the same way as when Shirayuki had taught him.

At the next ten minute mark, he did it with Thayne again. They were in agreement that the heart rate was normalizing. Obi brought the temperature level report down a notch as well, but he didn't stop putting water on her. It was only evaporating slightly less fast.

Then, she moaned and twitched slightly. Doctor Elliot froze and Obi looked up at him. "Miss Shirayuki, the pain medication either hasn't taken effect or is insufficient...though the pain reduction effect of the Little Death should be beginning to help as well." He sat up and stretched his back, looking at Ryuu and Shirayuki. Then feeling an extra presence, he looked around further and finally registered Obi's presence. "Ah?"

"Just got to the wing as you entered the room," Obi said. "My other job is finished."

The surgeon nodded and turned back to the pharmacists. "I've unstitched the tendon. Your poultice seems to be calming the heat in her natural tendon well enough. It's the bone. Is there a way to dissolve the glue? I think the glue is providing a barrier for most of the interior bone surface, but that also means it isn't coming out easily."

Ryuu and Shirayuki looked at each other, then rapid-fire spoke the language unique to pharmacology. Ryuu nodded and Shirayuki lept up and sped out the door. "She's getting the required ingredients," Ryuu informed the surgeon. "It will take about seven minutes to prepare."

Doctor Elliot nodded and put his head back down to his work. After a couple of minutes, he stopped again, and sat to wait. Thayne reported the next heart rate count. Obi followed it with the breath rate and temperature report. Doctor Elliot considered the numbers. "It sounds like the infection fighting medicine is working as it should. I told them to make it very strong. But bones...they register so much pain..."

"Take...it...out!" Ilena gasped weakly, surprising them. "Already...hurts...damn...bad…" Obi could see she was grinding her teeth against the pain. "Pain will stop...if it's out!"

"Yes, Mistress Ilena," Doctor Elliot said, "But we're waiting for the tincture that will dissolve the glue. I can't just take it out without doing damage that will make it impossible to repair."

"Four more minutes for Shirayuki to have it ready, Ilena," Ryuu told her. "Please wait a little longer."

The air hissed through Ilena's clenched teeth. Obi picked up her other hand. "Ilena. I'm here." He squeezed her hand and she clenched it back. He had to shift his fingers in her hand slightly so they didn't get squeezed off. "That is rather a lot of pain, isn't it? But it won't last long." Ilena whimpered. "Do you remember what you said to me before the surgery? That you would get through it by thinking of what you wanted to be able to do after it was successful? Can you think of one of those things right now? Just one, to hold onto?" He paused. It looked like she was trying. "When you've thought it, take a deep breath and let it out, letting the pain out with it. Keep thinking of the thing that is going to keep you going right now."

When she started taking deep, ragged breaths, and her clenching grip eased slightly, he began putting the water on her again, a little at a time, mostly on her brow. Strangely, it looked like she was getting cold. He frowned. "Doctor Elliot, she looks cold, though she is still hot to the touch."

"Put a separate damp cloth over her chest. That will hold in enough heat but still cool as it evaporates."

Obi looked down at his busy hands, then up at Thayne. "Get the second cloth," he told him. Thayne nodded and disengaged his hand from Ilena's. He found a cloth and wet it in the bucket. He wrung out the cloth and lay it across her chest. Fairly quickly, her shivering stopped. Obi nodded. "That did it."

They continued to keep the damp cloths on her, and Obi continued to hold her hand as she breathed through the pain. Finally Shirayuki came back in the room and handed a ceramic bowl to Ryuu. He smelled it and looked at it closely, then nodded and handed it to Doctor Elliot.

"Pour this carefully around the join. You may want to test an edge to be sure we've used the correct ingredients in their proper measure for what we made before."

Doctor Elliot nodded, then took out a little tool that he used to pour the liquid onto the hip bone. As it began to work, Ilena's breath hissed again and she tensed up, but with effort she was able to pull it back and let the dissolving agent do it's work. After a few minutes, he was able to wiggle the graft, then finally pull it out. He put some of the agent on a cloth and wiped the hole clean and smooth, doing his best not to damage the soft marrow inside the bone. Then he smeared a thin layer of the poultice he'd put on the tendon in and around the hole. "You can start making the glue now, Mister Ryuu," he said, reaching for his second graft option.

Ilena had gone very pale. Thayne frowned. "Master Obi, I can't feel her heart rate very well. Can you check it for me?"

Obi put down the cloth he was holding and felt the wrist of the hand holding his. Then he was grasping her hand as her grip failed. He couldn't get a heart rate either. He slid his hand under the cloth on her chest and still couldn't feel it. "Mistress...," concern colored his voice.

Shirayuki put her hand on Thayne's shoulder and he stepped aside for her. She moved the cloth covering Ilena's chest and put her ear directly over Ilena's heart. Everyone was very still and quiet while she listened. "It's faint." She checked Ilena's breathing. "She's unconscious again."

Doctor Elliot grunted. "Probably too much pain to handle. But keep watching her heart doesn't stop altogether."

"Obi," Shirayuki said gently. "Use the vein on her neck. It will give you a better count than the wrist."

Obi very gently felt along Ilena's neck until he could feel her faint pulse. It was surprising how hard it was to get just the right touch to find and feel for the heart rate in the neck, though it was more definite in that location. It was also a difficult angle to maintain for long. He had to shift several times before he found a sufficiently comfortable position. No wonder they usually used the wrist. Thayne, noticing, brought him the chair so he could sit again. When he was sitting again, Obi wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his arm, surprising himself. He quickly rolled up his sleeves, then took up his post again.

Doctor Elliot said, without looking up, "Now, Mister Ryuu, please." Ryuu handed over the glue. The surgeon quickly got the bone graft positioned and set, placing the glue poultice in place over the join. While it set, he selected another piece of long tendon, removed it, and laced it through the needle he had ready and carefully heated clean over a candle fire. When Ryuu declared the glue set, Doctor Elliot looked closely at Ilena's tendon. The swelling and redness had gone down. He sighed. It would take better if there was time between the reaction and when he tried again, he knew that, but he really wanted to not have to get into Ilena more than necessary. He was relying heavily on the poultice the pharmacists had made him to reduce the reaction. So far it had worked okay. Would it continue working after he had closed her up again? He placed more of the poultice on both sides of the tendon and worked it gently in through the fibers as best he could, then began stitching the graft side of the tendon to it.

Obi frowned. "Her heart beat has decreased again. And the rate is very low."

Doctor Elliot nodded. "How deeply is she breathing?"

Obi watched. "Shallow."

"Talk to her, close to her ear. See if you can get her to revive enough to get her back to regular, if pained, breathing."

Obi looked at Shirayuki, feeling lost. He couldn't do it and everything else he was doing, including trying to hold himself together.

Shirayuki knelt beside Ilena, put her head close to Ilena's, and began talking to her. Her quiet but firm voice washed over Obi as he focused on feeling for Ilena's heart beat and the changes to it. Then he remembered he was also supposed to be watching her breathing. His head came up, but Thayne's hand came down gently on his shoulder. "I'm watching her breathe," Thayne said. "You do what you need to do." Obi nodded gratefully and left that task to him.

Gradually, her heart rate returned to a soft, regular beat. He gave a report. Thayne followed it with a positive increase in her breathing. Obi could tell Shirayuki was now including praise in her running words to Ilena. He smiled slightly. If anyone could talk a person into living, it would be Shirayuki. He knew _he'd_ respond for her. He lifted Ilena's hand he was holding, put it briefly to his cheek, then rested his head on his raised hand, his eyes still closed in concentration to feel the faint beat of her heart in her neck.

Doctor Elliot tied his last knot, set the needle down and made one final check on the glue and the bone graft, checking to see everything was the way he wanted it. Then he carefully put everything back where it belonged. "Master Obi, is her heartrate strong enough I can have Mistress Shirayuki back?"

Obi thought about it as he made another count. "It's not back to normal, but I think so."

Shirayuki said a few more things to Ilena, then stood and went to help the surgeon wrap the bandages. Obi opened his eyes and looked at Ilena's face. Her face wasn't quite as pale now. "Has her breathing increased again?" he asked Thayne.

"Yes," answered Thayne from behind his head. "It seems to be steadying at about a normal deep sleeping rate."

Obi watched her chest rise and fall gently, counting. He was getting worn out enough he wanted to put his head on her chest to feel that rise and fall, and fall asleep to it. _That's right. I didn't sleep at all last night, did I?_ He shook himself and announced the breath rate.

"That's better," Doctor Elliot said. "I'd like it kept there. If she can sleep at that level for the next twelve to fourteen hours, that would be good."

"Master Obi, how do you count the number?" Thayne asked.

"It is like counting the heart rate, but you have to count for a little longer," Obi explained it more fully and had Thayne practice out loud a few times.

"Okay. I'll do that, now," Thayne said.

Obi nodded. Still holding on to Ilena's hand, he put his arm down and rested his head close to her ear. "Good girl. You were obedient to Mistress, and you're still living. Doctor Elliot's done. You rest now. You've made it through the worst of the pain." He squeezed her hand. "Whatever it was you were holding onto to walk through it, I hope it comes true for you."

-o-o-o-

Obi woke slowly. He was resting on his arms on Ilena's bed, still holding her hand. He could feel something covering his back. He reached up and felt it. It was his jacket, laid over him. He relaxed again. It was nice to just rest there, though it wasn't the most comfortable position. He listened to her breath. It sounded like she was sleeping well, his count was completely unconscious. His hand lifted, and he gently passed it over her forehead, brushing her hair. She felt nearly a normal temperature, though perhaps still just a little high to fight off any remaining infection. He was glad it wasn't as bad anymore. He sighed. It had been a crazy two days.

 _Ahh...I still need to see Master_. He couldn't quite lift his heavy body yet, but then it did it for him. _Really. How does that work?_ He was looking down at Ilena as he grabbed for his jacket before it completely slipped off his shoulders. She was covered again, both by clothing and clean bed covers. He remembered what she looked like before and his hand reached out to rip them off again. _No!_ This time he did make his body do what he wanted it to. Somehow the compromise was to place his hand on top of her chest over her heart. He stood and took his hands off of her, turning away from her and clenching his hands into fists. He knew he was just finally having a reaction to nearly losing her. When he felt in control again, he shrugged on his jacket. Then he turned back to her and kissed her forehead, running his fingers down a lock of hair as he returned to standing.

"Master calls," he said softly. Then he turned and quietly left the room.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Master Obi," Thayne was waiting outside the room.

"What time is it?" Obi asked him.

"Two hours after the dinner hour."

Obi nodded and finished doing up the last couple of buckles on his jacket. "I must report to Master now. Go and sit with her. She's sleeping well. I'll return in a few hours." His hand gripped his jacket front as he finished the last buckle. It still wanted to rip the covers off Ilena. He closed his eyes. What did it really want? It wanted to see her chest rising and falling again. To lay his ear to her heart. To know by touch that she was really still alive. He wanted to be laying next to her, holding her again, feeling her warmth. He wanted to hear her tell him anything, even if it wasn't a nice thing. His jaw clenched.

A warm, solid hand gripped his shoulder. "Father," Thayne's gentle voice called him. "She is alive. She will wait for you."

Obi opened his eyes and looked into Thayne's eyes. They held gentle understanding and warmth. Thayne gripped Obi's shoulder just a little tighter for a moment, giving him strength. Obi drew himself up slightly and nodded. Thayne released him as he turned to walk down the hallway towards his Master. Both men knew that no other call could have called him away from his partner at that time.

-o-o-o-

*Tap Tap tap-tap* Izana looked up briefly to glance at the balcony door, kept closed at all times unless he really was in the mood for fresh air. He nodded to his closest aid and Minister of Intelligence, Lord Barret. He was also the closest to a friend Izana had, though he was the originally assigned guardian to him by his father before his father had passed away. If anyone could be said to be a surrogate father to Izana, it would be Lord Barret, though the relationship was not quite that. Really, closest aide summed it up best.

Lord Barret rose from his desk at the other end of the King's office and went to the door. Izana paid attention out of the corner of his eye as Lord Barret spoke quietly with the person outside the door, then turned to him. Izana looked up at him. "It's a message, written, from Miss Ilena."

Izana motioned for Lord Barret to let the messenger in. He watched the messenger keenly. It was the one who usually came. Ilena was respectful and made it obvious so he didn't have to worry about many different random people coming to this odd door. She was the only one who had messengers that came by this way, so he'd already known it was from her. The fact it was written was what had caught his interest. He hadn't received a written message for a few years now.

The messenger bowed before his King on one knee. He already had the message out, having shown it to Lord Barret. He didn't hold it out right away, though. "My King, Mistress Ilena has had her experimental surgery yesterday. The surgeon was pleased with it. She came out of it well enough to speak with Master Obi before he left on the Regent's errand to retrieve the second list of witnesses. He has delivered them to the safe house today and is returning to be by her side."

Izana nodded. The messenger held out the message and Izana rose to take it. Just before he had it in his hand, it was withdrawn slightly and he paused to look at the messenger, just a little confused. The messenger had frozen and his head was turned towards the slightly open balcony door, the expression on his face going from respectful to stricken. Izana froze in turn and his breath came in short bursts until he managed to get it back under control. His heart was another matter. It was tight and beating rapidly. The tension made it to his eyes as they tightened.

Finally the messenger turned back and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty." His voice broke and he had to swallow and breathe once to recover and calm. "I've just received word that Mistress Ilena has gone into rejection of the graft, and the surgeon and Head Pharmacist have been called to come immediately."

Izana's hand, still reaching out for the message, balled into a fist. "Is the word still coming?"

"Yes."

Izana carefully opened his fisted hand and took the message in front of him. "Stay. I'll send a response with you." The messenger understood, bowed his head obediently, then rose and went to stand against the wall across from the open balcony door to wait on word from Wilant and his liege.

Izana went to sit at one of the chairs set along the balcony wall, but at a distance from the open door, in order to read his letter from the person he was worried for, wondering what would have prompted her to write a letter just before she went into surgery. His plan had been to keep the messenger in the corner of his vision, but he became enrapt in the letter instead.

 _King Izana,_

 _Zen has been much more capable than you led me to believe. The depths of his capacity to search out meaning and understanding have exceeded my expectations by three-fold. I expect him to easily solve the current trouble and to have little difficulty with the next, though there are yet things for him to learn. Myself, as well._

 _The rose has of herself decided to become the apple tree, finally. I did have to point her head towards the light, but she has of herself, without knowing who she asked, requested that I train her up myself. But you will have already heard this for yourself._

 _Please pardon me for moving quickly at this time to strengthen you. My experimental surgery is scheduled for earlier than anticipated. I've set Mitsuhide and Kiki together in one night, and the third tree of the garden and the apple tree face each other with clear understanding, also in that same time. The sapling I nurture has been allowed to inform her what he and the other aides have already figured out for themselves so that I may not be hindered in helping her immediately._

Izana twitched, both at her reference to her surgery and that the intelligent people at Zen's back had not needed anything other than his own actions to understand what Ilena was to them. He could forgive it, since it hadn't been Zen or Ilena who'd said it, and he knew that aides who knew their charges well enough to deduce such things were of the better ilk. Her moving quickly at this time wasn't surprising. She always did things to ensure if she ended up removed from the board, things were placed in the best possible position they could be at the moment.

 _As for the garden as a whole, I feel constrained to warn you that you have left yourself open to a deadly weakness._ Izana's heart thumped once, very hard _. If you cannot do what my sapling has done, at the irriated requirement of his mistress, and face your past properly, your future will be shortened - rather dramatically, actually. There is an orchid you have placed to become a sapling, and even labeled as such, but have neglected to tend to to ensure it becomes the tree you desired at the first for it to become. Because you have neglected it for nearly four years now, it is withered and stunted. Please remember that to flowers, and saplings, time passes with each day and season and the threats to each are more dramatic. The timing and strength of older trees is much different. It has led you to complacancy._

 _Your sapling, in your neglect, is being watered with poison and being given false sunlight by the enemies of the gardener. Because you have planted it next to the greatest tree in the garden, the roots of that tree are also being poisoned just as surely. It is not dead yet. It can still be retrieved, carefully dug out and replanted, or the enemies of the gardener removed and clean water and nourishing food given to the sapling and it will learn to grow in the way you originally intended. You must understand why it is you have neglected it, within yourself, and bend your mind to the timing of saplings and flowers if you wish to see it recovered._

 _If you cannot set it correctly and properly in a proper environment to see to it's strengthening by the time you wish to come and see with your own eyes the second tree and it's growth, even more damage will come to the garden, for the garden of the third tree will become uprooted with the whirlwind. If you continue to refuse to heed the words of your assistant gardeners, the great tree in the center of the garden will fall, toppled by the enemies of the gardener within one year, two at the most. Can your second and third trees hold the weight of the garden? And if the second one falls because of weaknesses that are still in it that have yet to be shored up within that time, will the third be able to carry the entire garden on it's own branches? Would you see the garden ravaged by your enemies, Master Gardener?_

 _In Service,_

 _Ilena_

The paper in Izana's hand shook, though he was sure his hand was steady. He quickly put the message down in his lap and turned his head to look out the balcony window, though he wasn't seeing it, his chin in his hand, his elbow up on the back of the chair he was sitting in. He had never received as severe a scolding as this from Ilena in all the times he'd been scolded by her. Nor one that frightened him so much.

Lord Barrett had been scolding him regularly for the past two years to pay more attention to his wife, Queen Haki, and with more frequency and harsher words for the past half year or so. Ilena was right that he thought in decades more frequently than in months or days. He wasn't even sure he had those numbers right. _Four years…. Has it really been that long?_ Izana was privately horrified he'd neglected his wife for four years. Two years ago they should have begun working on an heir. Why had he postponed it?

His mind shied away from the answer. He sternly pulled it back. If his own fear was the weakness that was going to destroy all of Clarines, he would punish himself until it was rooted out. He could not - _not_ \- allow himself to be the destruction of the kingdom he had charge over. He flailed himself with the issue until he had an understanding of what it was about himself that he needed to correct, then he turned to his aide. "Lord Barret, begin to tighten the noose around those who are poisoning the ears of my wife."

Lord Barret looked at him soberly for a moment. "Will you step in yourself?"

"Not yet, unless you need me to unearth proper evidence. I don't want to step too quickly and make them run and hide." Lord Barret nodded, though he looked like he would rather the King moved faster than that. Izana looked at him, then finally allowed, "Within four months, Lord Barret, we will see to it." Lord Barret nodded. A time frame was better, even if it was still long in the lives of average citizens and people of the world.

Izana looked at Ilena's messenger. "What further word has come?"

The messenger was a bit pale, but the word was not death, not at this time. Izana went to his desk and took up a pen and put it to paper.

 _Dearest Ilena,_

 _Please do not die. Your messenger arrived at the same time as word of the graft rejection. The garden cannot stand so well without the strength of the second tree, the same as it will stand the stronger for the sapling's growth. I will properly tend to mine, as I watch you tend to yours and that of the third tree. Let them take care of you properly as well._

 _Izana_

He wanted to carry it himself, for just a moment. He paused, holding still until that moment passed, then bound the message and took it to the messenger. Lord Barret saw the messenger out. It was still a long time before Izana was able to return to his work. His weaknesses had been shown to him all at once, and it was a difficult thing to recover from.

-o-o-o-

Zen set down the last document on his desk as he walked past it. He hadn't been able to be still for very long, ever since he'd received word from the medical wing that Ilena had rejected the first graft. He'd had to tell himself repeatedly that he had to trust in the people he had placed there, that his presence would be more distracting than useful. It didn't help. He wanted to be there, too. Mitsuhide and Kiki both had done their best to support his decision to not go, even as he knew they would have let him go if he'd have said he would. There were a few times Mitsuhide had opened his mouth to say, 'go', and Zen had glared at him until he'd shut his mouth again.

He'd been glad to hear the news that the surgery to remove the graft and replace it with another had been accomplished. He'd been shocked to hear Obi had appeared just as they had begun. When they explained that Obi fell asleep by her side just after they put her bandages on, and even before they had finished cleaning up, he'd both felt very jealous, but only for an instant, and very relieved. Her partner had been there for her in her time of need. If he'd been so tired as to fall asleep, it had to be because he hadn't slept all night and had hurried back to be by her side. Obi would come to him when he woke.

Shirayuki had come for dinner, needing his support after the surgery. He was glad she came. He needed her support, too. They took their time at dinner, five of them. Tairn had begged off to other tasks before dinner, but Shirayuki, he, Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Dane had all sat together giving each other strength as they hoped for strength for Obi and his partner.

Zen had been intrigued by the depth of emotion Dane held for Ilena. In person, it was pretty obvious how deeply she had effected this second son of an earl. He had thought back to Dane's story of how he'd met her, one of the ten Zen had read from the people at Falcon's Hollow, each one as intense and amazing as the others.

Dane had been on the wrong path that many second sons get onto. Bad friends, choices that led to the others in the family to frown upon him, choosing to not care, even though it made it all hurt worse. Like Zen, he'd always deeply respected his father and brother. He just couldn't see how he would ever be useful to them, or what his purpose was. It wasn't something he couldn't recover from with the right guidance. Then he found himself caught in a trap he couldn't free himself from. His bad friends had betrayed him to a master in the underground. They had slowly led him down a path into a web he hadn't seen and the master had struck suddenly, paralyzing him. He was told his only way to move forward was to betray his family, and in such a way it would destroy the house. He would have nothing to return to, once he and they had been completely drained.

Tairn, being an agent of the King, had already felt the tremors. He had confronted Dane, and Dane had rejected him, saying he would handle it on his own. Tairn had tried to follow him and protect him, but this particular master of the underworld wasn't the one who Tairn had his eye on, and Tairn lost Dane. When Dane had been missing for three days, he put out word on the light network, that of the regular town guards and soldiers. When Dane had been missing for two weeks, he had, in desperation, begun asking the underworld informants and any informant he could find not in his or the King's network.

Ilena's dark network was one who heard of the search and was the source that found Dane. He was being kept and used by an ally of the Earl's. The Earl had already had two alliances that he had scrubbed clean by killing off every member of the alliance. Ilena had not held sufficient power over the Earl yet to prevent them, but she felt she could prevent it this time. Then she learned this ally was holding Dane, who was being sought by his family, and that his family had strong ties to the King, being very loyal to him. Instead of preventing the Earl from scrubbing this family, she had allowed him to do it, going with him. She found Dane just before the flames reached the place he was kept prisoner and had pulled him out of the house to a darkened area of woods.

She asked him if he wanted to live, wanted to help his family be strong. Was he willing to do his best to stand beside his father and brother, who had searched long and hard for him? Would he take a task for her that would bring him and them strength and support his family in their chosen path?

To him, she was an answer to his pleas in the darkness and pain of the room she had freed him from. He had fallen to his knees and begged her to tell him what to do, tears flowing freely from his eyes. She'd held him and whispered in his ear what she wanted him to do. It was the same as with the others. Remember what had been done. Tell when he was asked to tell to the person she asked him to tell. Stand next to his father and brother. And if he needed something to do that would bring him purpose, live for her. He'd nodded. He would do it. Then he'd passed out.

When Dane had come to, he was back at his father's house. His wounds had been tended, and he'd been freed from the Little Death. He wept in grief and relief. A month later, Ilena had come to his father's house and greeted him. His father had seated her at the place reserved for a guest of honor. Then she asked them for a favor. She had someone who needed a place of safety where she could be cared for. Would they allow this person to come to their home and be cared for by Dane?

Dane said yes without reservation that he would take care of whomever it was. Because he agreed, his father also agreed. One week later, a carriage came bringing Freida, already into her eighties. Earl Malkin's heart was softened immediately upon seeing that Miss Ilena had asked him to care for someone who certainly deserved great and tender care. Dane had only had his own certainty validated, and from that time had served her with tenderness.

At dinner, Dane had told them how hard it had been for him to not know if Ilena had survived the rock slide. He'd been grateful that Obi had been able to tell them when they arrived at Falcon's Hollow, but even before then, when he'd watched Obi, from the funny episode of his unnecessary ploy to get him out of his father's house, until they reached the house, he knew, somehow, that she was okay and that she was being watched over. "I didn't know why, really, he'd been given the title of 'Father' until I was able to be with him for that time. Some of us know, many of us don't. I was glad I could be part of the first group and come to understand this thing. I'm glad she has him watching over her."

Shirayuki had nodded. "I'm glad he 's now willing to watch over her. She has had to work hard. But I think it was because he could talk to people like you at that time, that he was finally willing to really look at her. Before then, he wouldn't trust her. Thank you for that, Dane."

Dane had looked at Shirayuki in some surprise. "Ah, but I didn't really do anything."

Zen had smiled and told Dane, "Did you know it was Princess Shirayuki," they were doing as Ilena had set the example for and were calling her Princess when just they were together, "who set Ilena to be at Obi's side?" Dane had shaken his head. "She set Ilena there to remind Obi that he needed to have another to be his strength also."

"He had to be dragged back," Kiki had said dryly. "Ilena scared him too much at the first."

Dane had laughed. "Yeah, she's like that. I thought she was going to eat me when she first pulled me from the flames. Her words to me were so contrary to how she felt it was hard to understand them at first. Once you comprehend what she is underneath, it's something that you don't want to have let you go, but rather you cling to as if it was something you just realized you were missing all along - and you are glad of it. Because she gives it freely and joyfully, you never have to miss it ever again. She never asks amiss for it either."

"Doesn't that scare you just as much?" Kiki had asked.

"No." Dane had shaken his head. "She is careful - willful - but careful. That...darkness...that is frightening, that she can't hide fully, prevents anyone from assuming too much. However, it makes the light...realistic, believable. She gives because it brings her delight to give. She never takes without cause. She could, but she very carefully doesn't."

Zen wondered, now, if the darkness Dane had talked about was because of the revolution in Selicia and the death of her family, or if it was part of her natural ability to command. He was standing beside his desk, his hand still on the document he had put down, looking out his windows towards the city, his back to the door, when it opened, then clicked closed. He turned his head slightly. He knew this presence. "Are you back, Obi?"

He heard the soft footfalls of his sworn man approach, then the rustle of his clothing. Obi had knelt before his back. "I'm sorry for going to the side of my partner before coming to Master."

Zen sighed quietly. "I would rather you had come to me first, but I would have sent you right away. I'm not angry. How is it you were able to return so quickly?"

"It is as Master suspected. They didn't want me to speak with the witnesses. There are things they will say to me that they wish to edit before the castle hears."

"What do they wish to do next?"

"They will defend the house, both from within and without. I've encouraged them to consider using the soldiers to their benefit by letting them know we expect the use of the Little Death. ...And I forbade them from using it themselves in your name and my own."

"...Will they keep these things secret from you always?"

"No. They're willing to tell them to me at a later time."

"Do you know what they're planning?"

"Not yet." Obi had confidence he would learn of it eventually, one way or the other.

"Dane said today that he didn't understand why you had been given the title of Father until he met you and talked to you on the journey, and he was glad to be given that opportunity. He said that only some know why you were given it, many do not. Have you learned it yet?"

"No. I still only understand that I am to stand beside her. But Dane did say yesterday what place they expect me to stand in."

Zen turned and faced Obi. "What place is that?" his eyes held the piercing look of a hawk.

"When you place Ilena in the position of Minister of Intelligence, they expect you to place me in the position of Vice-Minister of Intelligence, so that I might carry out her and your will."

"...They wish for you to be the blade in her hand?"

"...I believe so."

Zen was quiet for a while. "Is she already moving?"

"Yes."

Zen's eyes flashed. Ilena was moving many pieces about her board: Shirayuki, Kiki and Mitsuhide, Obi, and even himself. Moving everyone into stronger positions. And her household was moving as well, stirred by her own hand.

"What did they say about Falcon's Hollow?"

"They do expect you to gift it to her. Most of them will stay, having chosen 'long ago' that they would do this thing."

She was moving upon a board she had set up long ago. Long enough ago to have witnesses for him from the time things happened. Long enough ago to want the land he hadn't known he would use for her sake. "What does she intend it for?"

"Horses."

"Horses? Is that why so many are coming? Even though it isn't big enough?"

"They don't know why, only that it is so. There are things she won't tell them."

That was a given. So he would have to ask the right questions at the right time to know. But he could feel it now. Feel that the test she was expecting had been set just as long ago as she had decided to be his shield. Feel that it was big enough to encompass the entirety of Wilant, and very likely all of Clarines.

"Obi, she's already said something important to you. What is it?"

Obi looked up at him in surprise, then thought back through all the time he'd been gone from his Master, these last two days. What had she said to him? Then he remembered. "When she was in the sleeptalking phase of the Little Death after her surgery yesterday morning, she said that there was a fate for her worse than death. It was the fate of being 'the cause of a war'."

That was it. War. Not just internal conflict. External conflict with another nation. It would come from Tarc - Zen had already guessed this. But now he knew: she was at the center of it. Tarc knew she existed and wanted to use her as it's pawn. She wanted to be placed in a position of power, and she wanted to be protected in that place so she couldn't be plucked from it, to prevent Tarc from using her against her country and family.

"Yes, that's the answer." He said aloud for Obi's sake. "She is setting the board into a position of strength, with sufficient protections around herself, so that she can't be used by Tarc when they come to war against us." He looked at Obi, who was still looking at him. "Will you protect her in that place at that time?"

"Yes," Obi said. His whole body and demeanor was in agreement. She had indeed already moved Obi into being ready to be placed in his position.

"Very well, we'll give them what they expect. Are you already prepared?"

"…," Obi gave the barest of sighs. "Yes."

Zen smiled sympathetically. "Then, I'm ready to hear your report."

Obi stood, settling into his semi-formal stance, and began his detailed report.

When Obi was done with his report, Zen considered. He'd already asked about most of the important things in the report, but there was something in it that had stood out to him. _The testing is over. Once they come attack here directly, everything will be set from our end as well._ And, _We don't intend to keep any more than that alive when they come. We don't want any coming back_. Mutual testing was normal. It was nice to know they were in agreement that the final collection of witnesses was too important to include in the testing phase.

"When Foster said that, after the direct attack, 'everything would be set' from their end, was he talking just about a sense of being secured after that, or was he saying more?"

"He was saying more."

"So there's a plan they will be in place to execute….?"

Obi shook his head. He didn't know what it was yet.

"...Perhaps it has to do with the horses?" Zen shook his head. "Keep that as a question to answer."

Obi nodded.

The other statement...it was telling of their nature as a household. And they were saying to him that they would protect themselves if he chose not to. He would remember.

"Ah, Obi…," Zen rubbed his head, and Obi relaxed, the official part was done. "I'm sorry I made you angry. I shouldn't have made your concerns a public joke."

"Well...that is true, but I wasn't angry."

"You weren't? It seemed that way."

"Ah, well, a quick retreat just seemed the proper thing to do at the time. But if it made you consider yourself, then that's okay."

"Kiki scolded me." Zen admitted. "I was too curious."

"You were curious, Master? Would you like me to kiss you, too, so you understand?"

Zen blushed, remembering Kiki's words, and scowled at Obi furiously. "No! Of course not!"

Obi looked at him narrowly. "Well, I think one day you should just let me do it once. You won't have to be curious any more after that. Besides, your words say no but, -"

"NO, Obi!" Zen cut him off.

Obi sighed. "It was just on the forehead, Master. She is still only my partner."

Zen wanted to protest. Obi's blush had said more than that had happened, but he was already in trouble enough, so he held still. "I know I said you could be with her, but when the reports come in from Falcon's Hollow, will you come and help with them? That much I will need you to do." Obi nodded. He wasn't surprised to be asked to help with that.

"Then we're done." Zen knew Obi wanted to get back.

"Where are Mister and Miss Kiki?"

"They excused themselves, knowing you were coming."

"Have they decided what they're going to do yet?

Zen shook his head. "They haven't said, but maybe they're considering it tonight."

"That would be good. ...You also need to be done with work. I'll walk you to your rooms." Obi turned towards the door and looked at Zen expectantly.

Zen shook his head. "They said they would come back for me. I have a thing I still need to do."

Obi looked at him closely. "You're not going to run, are you?"

"No," Zen laughed. "I've promised Shirayuki a written list. I need to finish it."

"Well, if it's for Mistress…," Obi winked at him as he headed for the door. "Good luck." He let himself out.

Zen had gotten a good start to his list, but had finally reached a state of confusion when Mitsuhide and Kiki returned to the office.

"Still working hard?" Mitsuhide asked him.

"Did Obi come?" asked Kiki.

"Yes," Zen answered both questions at once, still slightly distracted.

"What are you working on?" Mitsuhide asked.

"My list for Shirayuki."

"Are you having troubles?" Kiki asked.

"I'm not sure what is required knowledge of a lady of the court," Zen admitted with a sigh. "I have no sisters and my father died when I was young enough that I only saw Mother in her role as Queen and Regent. Somehow I feel I'm lacking knowledge."

"Then I think you can expect Miss Ilena to fill in those gaps," Kiki said pragmatically.

"Oh, is that so?" Zen considered that, then wrote one more line. "That should do it." He set his pen down and put the document in a folder to give to Shirayuki at lunch the following day. Then he rose from his desk and headed over to join Mitsuhide and Kiki.

As he reached them, he looked at Kiki. "Did you discuss it?" She nodded.

He looked at Mitsuhide. "Is there anything you need me to do?" Mitsuhide smiled and shook his head.

"Let me know if you do," he made them promise. Then he continued to walk towards the door. "Let's go then." Kiki opened the door. They walked out of the Rose office, and headed for Zen's rooms.

-o-o-o-

Obi was in a hurry to get back to Ilena - at least a part of him was. The part of him that wasn't ready to give up yet wasn't. So, even though there weren't a lot of people around at this time of night, he was going slow enough to practice seeing Ilena's Children. It being the later hours of the evening, he decided to detour to some of the more populated areas for that time.

He started with the study room and library. Neither were that full at this time of night either, but those who had extra studies would be there. After walking around for awhile as if he were looking for books, or a particular person, he finally shrugged and gave up, at least he seemed to. _Three for sure, but who was the fourth?_ There had been someone that had responded positively, but wasn't marked the way he expected. _Was it one of King Brother's?_ It had seemed to be that way. _Could it be one of the crossover points of contact?_ He knew he'd have to ask to know for sure.

He could stop in and take a look at whatever evening activities the lords were participating in, but he wasn't ready to step into that realm unprotected by Zen just yet, so he skipped that one and headed for the servant's wing. Since he needed a purpose to be there, too, this late at night, he took a slightly meandering route towards Leah and Rio's rooms. He hadn't seen them at all yet and he was curious as to why.

He didn't get very far from that wing before he started seeing the Children. The night time janitors were heading out for the various wings with their buckets and mops and rags. Over a third of them were hers. Fully half of the ones he saw were like the one he'd run into in the library. Not hers, not 'just janitors'. The whole servant's wing was like that, and he was only seeing maybe a third of the ones housed in the castle. There were many who lived in town and came to the castle for the daytime shift, and he was mostly seeing only night staff. He would have to see how the night shift compared to the daytime shift, but it made him nervous.

He found his way to Leah's room and knocked. She came to the door relatively quickly. Good, he hadn't pulled her out of bed.

"Master Obi?" She was surprised to see him at her door.

He instantly recognized her mark, but noticed it was a bit different, accentuated, and he looked a little more puzzled than he otherwise might have when he answered her. "Why did I not see you this afternoon?"

"Ah! My apologies, Master Obi." She bowed deeply, apologizing as if she'd deeply offended him. "Rio and I were sent to retrieve Doctor Elliot and Mister Ryuu, and were told to wait outside until the surgery was completed. You were asleep by the time we were called in to help with the clean up. Mistress Shirayuki gave us orders to only stay until dinner, watching over Mistress to make sure that she slept well. She stopped by on her way to dinner with Regent Zen, took our report, then said when Thayne returned we were excused for the night."

Obi listened patiently, then raised his hand. "I am not angry, Miss Leah."

"Oh. Well… That is good, but…," she petered out.

"What is it?" he invited her to say it.

"You were looking so serious," she said a little weakly.

"Ah, Foster taught me how to see today. I have been looking as I came to speak to you, and I have seen several things that concern me I have no answer to. It is that."

"Oh? May I help you?" Leah relaxed just a bit.

"What does your mark mean? It's different."

Leah paused. "It's because I was Mistress's nurse at her home before."

Obi nodded. He understood that it had significance because she had been with Ilena since Selicia. "There are others in the castle who are marked, but are not of Ilena's Family. Who are they?"

Surprise ran across Leah face, then she shook her head. "No, I shouldn't be surprised. You ran in the underworld long enough. You know how to see them already, and you have had yours eyes opened to the mark of the light side networks. They are either King Izana's or the Queen Mother's."

"The Queen Mother's?" Obi had not considered such a thing, nor had Ilena mentioned it. But as he pondered it, it did make sense. She had been regent here for many years and would also need to know what was going on in her own house. "How can one tell which is which?"

Leah looked at him, just little impatiently. This was not really the place. Then she leaned forward. He gave her his ear, and she whispered it to him. He nodded. He had seen the distinctions. The Queen Mother's people slightly outweighed the King's in this place. "Is it normal for nearly _all_ of the staff to be part of one network or another?"

Leah shook her head. "It is because there is still a shifting of responsibility. If Mistress is confirmed, eventually the larger portion will be hers, with only maintenance levels from the other two, though the Queen Mother's portion will still be more than the King's."

That made Obi feel better, but it made him want that to happen just a little faster. "Doesn't having high concentrations of three different Families cause greater opportunity for conflict?"

"It could, but the other two groups already were working together for a time, so had a balance. Mother knew we would be putting pressure on the system so ordered extra care from us. We are careful to bow to them for now. ...They are testing us also, so for now they are just watching, for the most part. There are some who we may turn to for aid when needed."

Obi had a thought. "How many of Mother's Children were here before she came?"

Leah didn't smile, but her eyes glinted just for a moment. "A smaller number that was sufficient to gather information."

Obi hesitated for a moment, then accepted that answer. It wasn't like an exact number from the past was important now, nor would he know yet how to interpret it. Likely Ilena had a similar number in Wilant Castle.

"Thank you for letting me disturb you," Obi said to Leah. They said good night, and Obi continued on his meander, this time headed for the wing the castle garrison was housed in. He wasn't sure what he would find there. Most of the guards on night shift he had seen weren't marked at all, just a very few, and of those, he had yet to see one that was Ilena's.

He was a familiar presence in the guard area. Zen frequently sent him there on business. He waved or chatted easily with the off duty soldiers who were still awake. There were a few more of King Izana's men here, and quite a few of the Queen Mother's, though still at a smaller percentage of the garrison as a whole, but again, he found none marked as Ilena's.

Then, as he was leaving, he ran into a junior soldier just coming in. "Ah!" Exclaimed Obi before he realized it. The soldier looked at him curiously. Obi quickly said, "Could I please speak with you over here for just a minute?"

The young man courteously nodded and followed him to a nearby place they could quietly talk without being overheard. "You are one of Mother's Children?" Obi wanted to confirm it first. The young man nodded. "Can you tell me why I have seen no soldiers other than yourself who are her Children?"

"I'm sorry, Sir Obi, but I 'm not authorized to answer that question. You will need to ask one of your guardians."

"Eh? I have guardians? Ah, this is a matter of ranking, I suppose? I'm probably even your junior...but in a different line?"

"Mmm...sort of. The people who will answer your questions are the people authorized to answer them. It prevents confusion."

"Oh." So, he was seeing it as ranking because only highly ranked Family members had the authority to answer his questions, his 'guardians'. "I think I see. Well, thank you for explaining at least that much. Ah, what is your name?"

"I'm David Tellius," he bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you, David. I won't keep you any longer."

While Obi walked back towards the medical wing, which wasn't very far away, he continued to watch, but he also was thinking. Foster had answered his questions, and he was an 'area captain'. Dane and Thayne answered his questions and they were both 'agents'. Leah had answered his questions. He didn't know her title, but it was likely very high since she was Ilena's secretary. Would he be answered by any area captain or agent, or just the ones assigned to be his guardians? He regretted not asking David what his rank was. That might have told him. At the time it had just felt like he was a lower rank.

When he turned down the hallway to Ilena's room, he finally took the time to look at the guards on her door. Hue was unmarked, but Sailte was marked as one of the King's. That surprised Obi. Maybe the King really did know her and have a marked interest in what happened to her. He looked down the hall. One of the guards at the pharmacy door was the King's, the other was one of the Queen Mother's. This seemed to be a case of both sides working together to protect a valuable asset.

He stopped in front of Ilena's door and looked Sailte in the eye. Sailte's eyes were questioning for a moment, then he bowed slightly. "Thank you," Obi said. Sailte hadn't expected that, and his eyes were a little wide, but he smiled. Obi put his hand on the knob and went in.

Thayne was standing by the time Obi entered. He had a small candle lit, but was hiding it behind the flower vase so that the room was mostly just ambiently lit. "She has continued to sleep peacefully, Master Obi." Thayne said. "Was Master Zen angry?"

"Not particularly," Obi answered. "I've come across some questions on my way back. Will you stay and answer them for me?"

"Of course, if I may." That answer held new meaning for Obi now, though the original meaning surely still held true as well.

"Why are there so few soldiers that are also part of any of the three Families, and why have I only seen one that is part of Mother's family?" Obi settled on the edge of the second bed where he could see Thayne and motioned for him to sit in his chair again.

"Ah, you've seen that there are three Families?"

Obi nodded. "Miss Leah explained that to me. I stopped by to speak with her briefly."

"In general it's because it is both unnecessary and difficult to recruit soldiers. A soldier becomes one often because they are already loyal to a particular crown. If asked to give information they'll answer without question. If they gain important information, they will immediately report it. Thus it is unnecessary to ask them to become faithful - they already are. It is also difficult because they are naturally suspicious of anyone who is not within the proper chain of command. They therefore must already have a strong loyalty to the person who asks them to become part of the network. Or someone already in the network must go into training, pass the testing, and be assigned to the place you need them. This is a long process, and they are not guaranteed to be placed where you need them."

"I ran into David Tellius. He is one who has done the latter?"

"Yes. We are very proud of him for performing well enough in his class that he was able to be selected for duty at the castle."

"Do you have any others here in the castle?"

"A few." Thayne didn't want to be pressed for more information in that area, Obi could tell.

"I asked David a question and he told me that he wasn't authorized to answer me because it would cause confusion, and let it slip I have 'guardians' who are authorized to answer them. Is it based on a ranking system, or a selection system?"

"Mmm...a bit of both. Only those who have the ability to determine what Mother is ready for you to hear will answer you, thus by ranking, but it is by selection because we are the ones she has chosen to place in your path. If Mother hadn't sent you to collect us, we would not be authorized to answer you, but only those of us ranked high enough could answer you. Because Mother has given me to you, it is her way of saying that I am to be not just your guardian, but your teacher for this time. Dane may answer certain questions now, even as Miss Leah did, but in the main it's expected that you'll learn from me, and from Mother of course."

Obi nodded, "It did feel that way, that I should bring the questions to you or to her. What are the rankings?"

"Child, Page, Agent, Captain, and the Immediate Family."

"Would David be a page or an agent?"

"He is still a Page, but is in training to be an Agent."

That was consistent to what Obi had felt. "You and Dane are Agents, and your father is a Captain. I would assume Miss Leah is part of the Immediate Family." Thayne nodded. "Grandfather as well." Thayne nodded again. "What is Miss Leah's title?"

Thayne shook his head. "Only Mother can tell you that. She protects the Immediate Family the most."

"I don't feel very protected," Obi complained.

"You have been very protected, Father," Thayne remonstrated. "No one but Family knows who you are, and they would die before they told an outsider. The Family as a whole was only shown who Father was beginning last fall, and that is also a protection for you. When you are seen, every member knows it is their responsibility to ensure your safety."

"That has been my burning question from the beginning," Obi said dryly. "How does everyone know what I look like?"

Thayne smiled. "Mother sent the word to everyone that 'Father will be taking a pilgrimage to every lord's house on the North Road in Wilant this fall. He will be standing behind the red-haired Princess. Learn his face.' Everyone in Lyrias, including myself, immediately knew who you were. She'd already had us watching both of you. There was one who knew your route and when you left. That word was spread and everyone worked to be somewhere along your path so they might learn your face. She recalled me to my father's house after she gave that order but before you left Lyrias, so I was able to make sure they also knew when and where to be looking for you."

Obi shook his head. That would have been a massive undertaking, even if it was he that had, in the main, gone to them. "It is hard to believe I didn't notice anything."

"Perhaps you did and ascribed it to something else. Being watched by the eyes of a light network feels different, too. You don't seem to feel it much. You're hyper aware of dark eyes, of course."

Obi nodded. He'd been distracted by his fear of Shirayuki having to go visit Farmore for the first half of the trip, or more. And he'd not particularly noticed being watched at Lyrias, except occasionally by shadows. They had probably been part of the Earl's network. "Well, I'll have plenty of opportunity to practice here now, but already just from looking for it tonight, I'm uncomfortable. It will take me a while to settle to this new feeling."

"It may help you to remember that the dark eyes hold death in them, light eyes hold no ill will for those who have not earned it. They are merely observing. This will be how you may distinguish between them."

Obi remembered back to Osterly, when he had delivered the word that the steward had died to the Little Death. Many of the eyes that had been looking at him were that - just observing. "There were an awful lot of you in Osterly, then, at that time."

"Yes. We were unable to prevent them from coming to see for themselves, even though there was little to see except you. Thus, you became the subject for many conversations at that time."

Obi sighed. "So it is a gossip chain too?"

Thayne smiled. "It is hard to stop gossip, especially when that is all there is, but we distinguish very carefully between information and gossip so that there's no confusion."

"That's the second time today I've heard that."

"The sole purpose of an information network is to transmit accurate information from one place to another. If we could not maintain careful, trustworthy information transfer, our efforts would be in vain, and we would not be worthy to walk next to the networks of the King. Confusion is the enemy to an information network. There are many structures in place to prevent confusion, but now is not the time for you to learn those details."

"Even though I have the title of Father, I understand that I am not yet Father. Among the other rankings, where am I?"

"Still Child, of course," Thayne grinned, "but you are now in training for Page, since she marked you yesterday. You are already at the advanced stages of training because you bring with you your prior experience which helps you learn very quickly the things of the light network. And because you ask pointed questions to understand that which you don't understand. But you'll need to learn a few things at her knee before you graduate from your lessons. I won't be able to tell you everything, because you're Father."

Obi nodded. That made sense. "There are things that Foster couldn't say that I already knew, and it's because I stand between Mother and Master, and answer to Master. The Family can't tell them to me because they know Master will hear of it. At what point will I have to make the choice between them?"

Thane frowned. "It's our goal that that never has to happen. If it does, you must let us know right away, before you must act on it. If it needs to go all the way up to Mother to correct, we will take it to her, or you may. The further on this path you choose to go, the easier the way will be, after all our goal is to stand to support Master Zen. If there's a conflict, that's a problem."

"Yes, that would be." Obi's eyes were dark. "Then, if I feel conflicted, I shall confront it."

Thayne made a half-bow while sitting. "Please do."

"I'm done with asking questions," Obi said. "Have you learned where your rooms are yet?"

"But that was another question, Master Obi," teased Thayne. He answered it meekly when Obi glared at him. "Yes, I have."

"Then get out. I'll stay here until Master sends to me to tell me the reports have arrived from the safe house. You should familiarize yourself with the castle until then. If I need you I'll send one of Scamp or Scoundrel to fetch you."

Thayne stood and bowed, "Yes, Master Obi. Good night."

He left and Obi turned to look at Ilena.


	24. Keeping Ilena Alive for the Second Time

_Continuing on to the next loop in the rollercoaster. Hope you enjoyed the Izana bit last chapter..._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 24 Keeping Ilena Alive for the Second Time**

Ilena was still sleeping deeply. It seemed so unnatural that she hadn't woken even briefly when he came in, nor had stirred or commented during his and Thayne's entire quiet conversation. There had been several moments where he'd expected her to interject witty or caustic comments, but they hadn't come. He rose from the second bed and prepared himself for sleeping. He lay down on it again when he was ready, and thought about the day and the conversation he'd just had, but before long he was sitting up again.

Obi sighed. He'd held himself back over and over, night after night while testing her, his distrust anchoring his resolve. Two nights ago that had been breached because of his fear. After having participated in this day's crises, a part of him couldn't trust she was okay, couldn't relax. "Indeed, what a child I am," he chided himself, referring to both his fear and his station in her household. He tried again, rolling himself into his blanket and facing the wall. He used her soft breaths as his lullaby and forced himself to relax into at least the light watchful sleep that would give his body some rest.

He'd been sleeping that way for several hours when there was a light knock on the door. He rolled slightly to see who was entering. "Obi?" It was Shirayuki whispering quietly.

He rolled to standing, his blanket still clutched around him. "Mistress?"

"I've brought Ilena's next dose of the pain reducing medication. She'll be needing it shortly. It must be administered every twelve hours."

"Have you stayed awake all this time?"

"No, I've woken recently to make it. I will return to bed after she's taken it."

"That's good."

Ilena shifted, catching Obi's attention. They walked over to stand next to her. Shirayuki left the door open slightly so that they had enough light to see by to work. Ilena groaned quietly. Shirayuki lifted her head while softly speaking to her, telling her who she was and what she was giving her, like she had done after the second surgery at Osterly garrison. Then she put the vial to Ilena's lips and carefully poured it for her. Obi could see that Ilena was aware enough to swallow it obediently, if slowly. Then Shirayuki lay Ilena back down, handed Obi the vial, and quickly checked the wound site for telltale heat. "That's good. She still is at an acceptable temperature."

"May I know it, Mistress?" Obi wanted to know so he would know if it became elevated, but he was afraid to touch Ilena without permission.

"Yes," Shirayuki took his hand and guided it to the places she was touching to measure. Obi was glad it was dark enough to hide his blush. Mistress holding his hand was just as dangerous as him touching Ilena on any day. He hoped Master never heard of it, but then again he could probably use a good scolding right about now. He tried hard to focus on the temperature he was supposed to be remembering.

When Shirayuki let go, he hid his hand in his blanket, holding it close to his heart. "Thank you, Mistress. Do you know what symptom it was that sent for the Doctor to come?"

"It was like at Osterly, when she had the infection, but her fever came on very quickly."

Obi nodded. He had been in the room for that before. "I'll recognize it. Shall I walk you back?"

There was a soft scuff at the door. "That won't be necessary, Obi."

Obi turned in surprise. "Master?! What?"

"Shirayuki told me at dinner she would be coming down. I told her I would help." Zen walked into the room and up beside Ilena. "After all, I still haven't seen Ilena yet."

Shirayuki explained to Obi that Mitsuhide and Kiki had told how Zen had restrained himself from coming down during the surgery and they had approved the unescorted trip as a reward. It made Obi nervous, that his master was unescorted, and very glad he'd behaved.

Zen was looking at Ilena. Her face showed some of the pain she was in. He brushed her forehead with his hand, as if wishing to banish the pain. She turned towards the touch, then her eyes opened blurily. Both men recognized it. She had looked at them like this before, the first time she had spoken to them, the time Obi had grieved for abandoning her. This time, Obi had nothing to grieve for, save her pain. He felt, rather, that this time he had things to be grateful for.

"Z-e-n."

He smiled at her and put his hand on her arm, squeezing it briefly. "Ilena."

"Tha-nk you." He nodded, then nodded towards Obi. Her head turned slowly.

She saw Shirayuki first. "Prin-cess."

Shirayuki leaned down and gave her a light hug. "You will be better soon," Shirayuki said to her.

"Yes," Obi heard her answer but he couldn't see her face because Shirayuki was standing to block her. Shirayuki looked up at Zen with a worried expression on her face. Zen had seen it too. Ilena didn't believe her own word.

"Obi is here, too, Ilena," Zen said to her, wanting to encourage her. Shirayuki moved to let Obi through, trying to not show him a worried face.

Obi reluctantly moved to stand close to Ilena. He was worried about what he would do. He looked into her eyes that were once again fighting to stay open. Ilena's hand lifted and Obi took it by reflex. Her eyes closed. "O-bi," she sighed.

She relaxed as much as she had, and as suddenly as she had, when she had passed out before on the surgery table. Obi was immediately alarmed. Shirayuki felt for her pulse on her neck and counted, then left her hand there, monitoring.

She looked up at Obi. "Do you remember that Doctor Elliot said that we should talk to her to keep her present enough until she had the strength of herself again?" Obi nodded. "I want you to do that this time, until she stabilizes again."

He looked at her, lost and uncomprehending.

"Obi," Zen called to him. Obi looked into the eyes that anchored him. "Your night two nights ago with Ilena did not just end with a kiss on the forehead. What did you do that allowed you to leave?"

"She...she asked me to stay with her, that she was afraid, too."

Zen nodded, then held his hand out to Shirayuki. She walked around the head of the bed to take his hand, and he began to lead her out of the room. At the door, he looked back at Obi. "Do it again. Keep her here. Keep her alive."

"Ah, no, but…," Obi tried to say as Zen shut the door behind them.

Obi trembled. He had just been ordered by his Master to do the very thing he had been holding himself back from doing. He wasn't sure how to take it. He had wanted a scolding, something to help him pin himself down on the other bed. Even his Mistress had ordered him to stay by her...again. It was the second time. The second time for everything. Could he help her stay alive for the second time? The first time she had lived for Wellesley. Would she stay alive for Obi?

He bent down and said in her ear, "Ilena, I'm afraid. I am going to stay with you. Will you stay with me?" Then he carefully sat on the bed, afraid of shifting her too much, and slowly lay down next to her, his blanket still wrapped around him. He reached around her and placed his hand on her neck, finding her heartbeat. It was indeed as low as before. He shuddered. He knew he didn't know what to say, but there was no one else here to hear him say it. He opened his mouth and the words he had been holding inside for the last two months, the last thirteen years, began to flow out of it and into her ear.

He told her how much he had appreciated her strength at Farmore, her loyalty, and her kindness. He told her he was sorry for abandoning her, that he still couldn't understand why she didn't hate him, but that he was grateful she didn't. He thanked her for being his warmth and strength through all the dark years. He thanked for being there to protect him at the battle and bind his wound so that he could live. Told her that the scar now meant to him that it wasn't just some unknown 'someone' that wanted him alive, but was a reminder that she had always been watching over him, had always remained his strength. His heart had been missed and she had bound it and protected it. Would she continue to protect it, continue to be his strength, bind it again by living, by staying by his side?

He told her he had stayed with Zen and Shirayuki because they reminded him of her, because he had seen her in them. They wanted her to live, had ordered it. She must be obedient to Zen and Shirayuki in all things, but especially in this. He reassured her that serving them was not a burden, but was light, was a weightless service. Even he hadn't expected it until he had accepted it and found it to be so. He would help her, would be her strength until she understood it for herself. Zen would protect her, and he, Obi, would help. She needed to still help Shirayuki stand by Zen. No one else could do it. She couldn't leave after making that promise. He had been waiting so long for them to get together, and she was the only thing that had come in answer to that desire in all of the long five years he had followed Shirayuki. He was so glad she had, even if it meant she was going to be difficult. He would live with that if it meant that Shirayuki would finally get to stand by Zen as his Princess.

"In a very short amount of time, you have become the source of great change in this place. There is still much you have left to show us, you must show us, else we shall be lost to war and ruin." The pulse under his fingers jumped. It had been slowly increasing in intensity, but her reaction to this comments said that she was, at some level, really hearing what he was saying. Her worst fear - being the cause of a war - had awoken her to a state of being willing to fight to live, finally.

Obi sighed in relief and rested his forehead on her head. "I love your Children, Mother." He told her. "And they love you. They work for you because they know your cause is just. They will help you to win the fight to prevent war from coming, but they need you at the head. Only you know how to direct their efforts. I will help you. Master will help you, but we cannot do it without you. You still have things to tell us that we need to know in order to prevent a war we know nothing about yet. We'll protect you from your enemy, so that you cannot be moved. All of us will. We want you, and we want you in the place you have chosen to be." He couldn't tell if he was moving into the realm of half-truth now or not, but he was certainly already desperate.

Her heartbeat was much stronger now. He remembered Shirayuki rewarding her last time. He kissed her temple and praised her, encouraged her some more, and held her to him, saying, "I will stay here by your side tonight. Let my presence bring you courage and strength. Sleep to recover your strength, but stay with me. Stay alive."

Her hand twitched and he took it in his. She faintly squeezed his hand, then turned her face towards his, and fell into real sleep again. He faded into the sleep of semi awareness, her breath on his face his anchor.

-o-o-o-

When Zen and Shirayuki left the room, Zen said nothing, but led her quickly towards her quarters. She could tell by how tightly he was holding her hand that he was very worried. He was careful with her on the stairs up to the second level, but he was still in a hurry. There on the landing, he stopped and turned to her. "Shirayuki…," he started, but then couldn't find words.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him. "It's okay, Zen. I know why you love her. I know it's frightening to think you might lose her, but she loves Obi. She will hear him calling her and will listen to his voice." She allowed him to hold onto her for strength and courage until he was ready to stand on his own again. They sat on the top step, side by side, holding hands, talking quietly until they couldn't stay awake anymore. Zen saw her to her door, then, using his master key for the wing, stumbled into Obi's room and fell asleep on his bed.

It was the cause for quite some excitement the next morning and a scolding from a very worried Mitsuhide, who was cut off in the middle by two frowning women who stood to protect Zen. Zen was glad for it. He'd gotten to sleep in for once.

-o-o-o-

They were discovered first by Leah and Rio, coming for the morning nursing. They weren't all that noisy, but Leah chose to shake Obi by the shoulder and demand that he remove himself, at least to the other bed.

He opened one eye and rolled it to look at her. It wasn't a kind look. "Master and Mistress's orders. We almost lost her again last night."

Leah let go suddenly and froze. "Ahhh…." She finally remembered to breathe, letting it out in a long sigh. Rio had her hands to her mouth in shocked dismay. "I'm sorry. Is she okay now?"

Obi closed his eye and put his hand on Ilena's heart and counted. "Yes. She is still sleeping."

Leah stood quietly for a moment, then said, "We should still get her ready. Doctor Elliot will be here shortly to check on her status, and Mister Ryuu will follow after to bring her next dose of the Little Death."

Obi woke up for that. "No!" he said lifting his head and turning it to look at Leah. "She will not survive it today."

Leah held up her hands. "That is for the two of them to decide. You must speak with them. It is our duty to see to the morning tending."

Some inner part of Obi was impressed. Leah was standing up to him and he was in protective mode. "I can do that," he said dismissively, putting his head back down next to Ilena's. "I've been doing that for months. Go tell them I won't allow it today during the day. If she is strong enough tonight maybe she can tolerate it."

Leah looked at him in dismay. Finally she looked at Rio. "Stay with them. I will go and speak with the doctor and pharmacist."

"Send a message to Master, too. He will be wanting to know she's still alive," Obi ordered. "He's probably sleeping in my bed." And this was how they found Zen that morning. When asked later how he knew, Obi answered with a shrug, "It's what I would have done. And wasn't it the safest choice?" No one could argue with that.

Leah returned some time later and quietly told Rio that the two medical staff were in conference. They, having been told that Zen had himself come down with Shirayuki, were considering asking him for his input into the matter. Thus it was with relief they welcomed Zen into the office when he suddenly appeared, Shirayuki and the other two constant shadows behind him.

"Tell me what's happened," Zen ordered.

"Miss Leah says Master Obi is refusing to move from Mistress Ilena's side, and has refused to allow her to take the Little Death at her morning dosing time. He says if she is strong enough by evening, he may allow it then." Doctor Elliot summed up the current situation.

"Obi has never liked that she's been on the Little Death," Shirayuki said sadly.

"How is she doing now?" Zen wanted to know.

"We haven't yet entered the room, but Miss Leah says he checked her heart rate for her and said she was sleeping."

"Well, that's good enough news," Zen did look very relieved, as did Shirayuki. "What are the options for the Little Death?"

Doctor Elliot looked at Ryuu. "We are in agreement with Master Obi that her body will not likely be able to handle the strain of the hibernation state so close to the time she was already weakened, and the pain payment will also be too stressful. However," Doctor Elliot looked worried, "she and I spent long months carefully calibrating the timing and amounts. She was given a minimal dose to begin with this time, but it is still high enough she can't just be taken off of it. I could delay the dose for a time, but the pain payment will be greater, rather than less. The hibernative state will remain the same."

"I know when to administer the pain reducing medication in relation to the administration of the Little Death dose in order to most effectively reduce the pain of that payment time, though it still only affects a portion of it." Shirayuki offered.

"You do?" Doctor Elliot was surprised.

"Yes, I experimented with it when we were in Osterly. It was difficult to bear her cries."

Doctor Elliot brightened. "That's wonderful. May I have a copy of that research?"

Shirayuki nodded, and Zen cleared his throat to return the topic back. The three researchers discussed options and timing for another twenty minutes before finally settling on the best time and dosing. Shirayuki and Zen had argued for not just delaying the doses but also reducing the number of them. Only Doctor Elliot knew exactly how much additional difficulty Ilena was going to have in the end, since he had already had to live through it multiple times during their original research, so when he pushed back on certain things, they deferred to him, though often it was with obvious reluctance.

When they were wrapping up the meeting and beginning to summarize the plan they would take to Obi, Zen sent Kiki over to warn him they were coming.

She knocked once and entered, as was their standard entrance into the office. She had to admit it was rather shocking to walk into the room to find Obi laying next to Ilena in her bed, his arms wrapped protectively around her. He had always been wild, but this was raw - particularly because she understood it completely.

"Obi, Zen is coming." She had to stare into his eyes, or she would have to look away from them. "He wishes for you to be ready."

Obi continued to stare at her a moment longer, then he reluctantly let Ilena go and sat up. Kiki sighed an internal sigh of relief. Only Zen's name could get him to move, and she had already learned that when it came to Ilena, sometimes even that was not sufficient.

"Master Obi, will you please allow us to take care of her now, before the Regent comes?" Kiki thought Miss Leah was very brave.

Obi slowly turned his head to look at her, and considered the question. Then he looked down at Ilena and his face softened slightly. "I will help you," he answered. "Miss Kiki, please tell them we will need 15 minutes to have her ready."

"Very well," Kiki left them to it and returned to Zen. That room was just standing, preparing to go. Kiki stood in the doorway, blocking it as a sign to them. "Regent Zen, Obi and Miss Leah request that you allow them fifteen minutes to complete the morning preparations for Miss Ilena."

"You were able to get him to move, then?"

Kiki hesitated, "No. It was only your name that moved him, however I was afraid even that would not be enough."

Zen's eyes widened and Mitsuhide showed a reaction as well. "It's nearly as bad as that?" Zen asked.

Kiki nodded soberly.

"As bad as what?" Shirayuki wanted to know.

"As the time he ran away from you and her and we had to forcibly remove him from his tree to bring him back, Shirayuki," Mitsuhide quietly explained.

Kiki nodded. "He has the same wild look to him now as he did then. Miss Leah is very brave to be willing to stand up to him when he's like that."

Zen was on that bit information quickly. "Did he listen to her?"

Kiki nodded. "It was she who requested they be allowed to prepare Miss Ilena. He considered it, then agreed."

"Haaah. It's a good thing she has come to the castle, then, if they will both listen to her. I think I need to ensure she remains my ally." He looked significantly at Mitsuhide. That meant, _schedule a time for me to meet with her_. Mitsuhide nodded. "We'll wait in the courtyard for them to be done." Kiki opened the door and the committee recessed for the moment.

Everyone in the courtyard turned when Miss Leah opened the door and invited them into Ilena's room. Shirayuki and Zen entered first, Mitsuhide and Kiki following to stand behind them against the wall. Their presence was a message from Zen to Obi.

Obi was sitting on the bed next to Ilena, one leg tucked up under the other, still only in his shirt and pants. His boots were still under the other bed, his jacket draped across the back of one of the chairs. His dress was his message to them - he would not be moved from Ilena's room this day.

Zen had to agree with Kiki's assessment. Obi wasn't being rebellious, after all he'd been told he could stay already, but he had the look about his eyes and in his posture that were exactly like what he'd been like when he had fled to the castle before. He would listen to what Zen had to say, but if he disagreed with it, he would fight it.

Ryuu entered the room, but stayed near the door, looking sad. Doctor Elliot had come in just before him and, when he passed Shirayuki, both he and Shirayuki walked to Ilena's left side. Obi said nothing, but watched them as they examined Ilena and Shirayuki took her vitals. They turned and reported to Zen that she was stable and resting deeply.

Obi shook his head. "She is already waking up. It will just take longer."

"How do you know, Obi?" Zen asked.

"I've learned it from being with her every night. Her breathing patterns change. There are too many people in here at once, and she's concerned." His tone was one of merely exchanging information, but the feel in the air was that he would rather they left so she didn't wake up.

Zen decided not to argue it. If he was right about her waking, they would know. He was right about them being here - the sooner they all left, the more rest Ilena would have. "Obi. They've worked out the best plan they can for the most benefit to Ilena, balancing the requirements of the Little Death with her fragile state. Hear them out."

Shirayuki took a deep breath. It had been decided she would be the spokesperson given her relationship with Obi and Ilena and his current state of mind. "Obi," she called to him, and he turned and looked at her. "We agree that she can't handle being given the morning dose of the Little Death this morning. However, the longer her dosing is postponed, the greater the pain of the payment. We will ameliorate it with the pain reducing medicine, but the correct balance must be maintained. If we postpone it too long, it will have an insignificant effect. We also feel that we must reduce the number of doses to the minimum necessary to minimize how many times her body must be stressed." Shirayuki took another breath. Obi, so far, was listening.

She went on to tell him the exact schedule they had worked out. It was agressive. Doctor Elliot and Ilena had used the method the first time they had experimented with removing her from the Little Death. He hadn't liked it because her pain had been significant and the timing was tricky. It was only Shirayuki's research with the pain reducing medication that had swayed him. The selected method also would put her in a shortened hibernative state due to the extremely low doses of the drug. This was seen as a benefit to her current situation, but it changed the timing of everything, so constant monitoring would be necessary.

As Shirayuki neared the end of her explanation, Obi glanced down at Ilena and took her hand, but stayed silent until Shirayuki was done. When she was silent, he sat and considered it, then looked back down at Ilena. "Do you agree with their proposal?" he asked her.

"It is carefully thought out," she answered. Everyone else in the room was surprised. Ilena even still looked asleep.

"Can you live through it?" his voice was harsh and demanding, even though he did not raise his volume.

"Ah, Obi, only the gods can know such a thing...," she said with a sigh. Then, when he squeezed her hand, she slowly opened her eyes and looked around for Doctor Elliot. "What is the next dose?"

The surgeon told her the specific amount they had decided upon. She looked like she was calculating to him and Obi, but to some she looked like she had fallen back to sleep. "I cannot say what effect the hibernative state will have on me, but without the pain reducing medication I would not survive the pain payment. ... It is indeed aggressive. If the dose could be administered even that half-hour before...it would be helpful."

"What sign is there at that time?" Obi asked.

Ilena considered again. "No, you would be able to tell, Obi, but I don't know what sign to tell you. It feels like a beginning of becoming agitated that slowly increases to extreme pain."

Obi looked at her, thinking. "...Yes. I've seen it before. ...But will you be conscious enough to take the dose?"

"Yes, at that time, there is lucidity, similar to now, but it is overcome by the pain eventually, so the window is short, maybe ten minutes at most."

Obi looked back up at Shirayuki and Doctor Elliot. "Both medications can be made ahead of time, but by how much?"

"Twelve hours at the most for the pain reducing medication, and it's effectiveness decreases after about eight." Shirayuki said.

"Three to four days for the Little Death," answered Doctor Elliot.

"How long do you expect between doses?"

Doctor Elliot pursed his lips. "She will not begin to have withdrawal symptoms today until some time this evening. Thereafter, I don't know, but it will be less than a day between for each because they are such low doses. Indeed, I expect the last two doses to be needed about half a day apart, though they should be as far apart as possible. This is the part that worries me the most. Her body may not have sufficient time to recover in between the doses."

"But," Ilena interjected, "those two doses have the little pain, and the shortest hibernative effect." Doctor Elliot nodded, agreeing that she was right.

"How shall I know if she needs the fourth dose? Will it be as before, with a session without tears?" Obi asked one more question.

Doctor Elliot shook his head. "This is a different process. You will have to wait to see if she has the withdrawal symptoms one more time. They could come within four to eight hours of the third dose. If she has no more pain payment, she is done, but she should still be monitored until she awakens naturally. This is the process most peace officers use on addicts when they know what dose was initially being taken, and that last dose is often the one that is administered incorrectly because they can't tell that it is needed, nor when. If you can tell it, I will let you do it. I almost missed it the first time." Doctor Elliot turned a little pale just remembering.

Obi was still. He looked down at Ilena. She opened her eyes and looked at him, then gently pressed his hand. "When you are off of it this time, you will promise me to never take it again," he stated. He looked at Doctor Elliot, "And you will promise to never give it to her again." Doctor Elliot bowed. Obi looked at Zen. "Master, I will not be able to come by the time the reports arrive. I expect them to arrive two mornings from now. Perhaps by the following day I will be able to come."

Zen paused, thinking. That would be four witness reports for each of Mitsuhide and Kiki, but they could do that in one day. It was the packet of daily reports that Obi summarized for him that he was mostly wanting Obi for. He supposed he could do them if he couldn't wait for the one day. He nodded. "Ilena's survival takes precedence. You will send me updates after each dosing." Obi nodded.

Zen walked over to Ilena, also on the far side of Obi, and placed his hand on her head. She opened her eyes to look at him. "You, Ilena, will live." His blue eyes were icy hard. "You have many things to tell me yet that I am waiting to hear."

"Yes, Regent." If she had been standing, they could feel she would have bowed. Then she smiled at him slightly and sighed. "Master Zen, you are too quick for me. I am having great difficulty in keeping ahead of you."

"Good," Zen said. Then he relented. "But I will wait until after the lesson to hear the details of the test. One worry at a time is sufficient."

"Haahh…," she smiled as she closed her eyes. "Have I told you I love you yet? Obi, kiss Master Zen for me." Her voice faded away at the last as she finally gave up and fell asleep again.

"Ah!" Obi held up his hands at Zen's look. "I think she misspoke. Surely she meant to ask Mistress to do it for her!" Shirayuki turned red. Kiki and Mitsuhide looked at each other and smiled with their eyes. Ilena had broken the combative air at the end and reminded them all they had won as a team again.

Mitsuhide and Kiki approached Obi. Kiki leaned down and hugged him, then moved aside and Mitsuhide placed his hand on Obi's shoulder. "We will handle the reports if necessary," he said to the surprised man, "but don't be gone too long. Your desk is already groaning and we don't have the time to help it. It would be a shame to have to use it as firewood from it splintering."

"You will have to use the floor if that happens," Kiki said dryly, but she had a slight grin on her face.

"Thank you," was all Obi could think to say, "but I would not mind using the floor, or even the tree."

"No, I imagine not," Zen said dryly as the others laughed, "but Shirayuki would."

"Well, no actually, I wouldn't," Shirayuki contradicted him. "I'm quite used to working on the floor in the pharmacy and I have been in trees for my work since I was quite young. However, I'm not sure how we would get the stacks of paper to not fly everywhere, once we had figured out how to get them up there."

Finally both Zen and Obi smiled. Even Ryuu smiled, remembering a time Obi had helped him collect papers that had been blown by the wind, including up into a tree. "Shirayuki," he said in his quiet voice.

"Yes, Ryuu?" she was always quick to answer him when he called. He was going to miss having her in the pharmacy.

"I'll make the medicine and bring it to Obi. You should go with Prince Zen to help Obi preserve his desk."

"Are you sure?" she asked him, concerned about his time.

Ryuu nodded. "I would like to do it," he said.

Shirayuki nodded. "Okay, Ryuu. I'll leave it up to you."

"I'll bring it in a few hours," Ryuu looked at Obi, trying to display the earnestness he was feeling.

Obi gave him his signature grin, that came so easy because he always used it to hide what he was really feeling. "I will be counting on you, then, Ryuu." For Ryuu, he would be gentle.

Ryuu nodded, bowed to Zen, and left the room.

Doctor Elliot spoke up. "I'll also go and prepare the doses. I'll make sure they're clearly marked and understandable, and explain them to you when I bring them." Obi nodded, his face serious again. The surgeon bowed to Zen, then left the room, following after Ryuu.

Shirayuki explained to Obi when he should administer the pain reducing medicine in relation to the Little Death for the best effect, then paused uncertainly. "Obi, is it okay?"

He looked at her, his head tilted a little. "Mistress, I would like to say to you that it is. I'm angry, but there is little I can do at this point except what must be done. We must get to the other side, the same as we have done before in Lyrias. I have Miss Leah, Miss Rio, and Thayne to help me here if it is needed. What you can do in the office will help me, but if you need to come here, I'll not turn you away. She is also yours, and it was your call she answered to yesterday."

Shirayuki looked at him with gratitude. "I will come, then, for tonight at least."

He smiled gently at her. "You do not need to stay for the pain payment, but if you will come for the time she is in the hibernative state, I would be grateful."

Shirayuki's hand was at her heart again. She nodded, then looked at Zen expectantly. He looked at her and put his hand on her head and smiled. He turned to lead the four remaining out the door, then looked back at Obi. "I will leave it to you, then, Obi." His eyes both plead and ordered.

"Shall I expect to see you suddenly again, Master?" Obi asked him seriously.

"...Most likely," Zen said as he turned away. He headed for the door.

Mitsuhide frowned at his back. "Will you at least go to your own bed afterwards, Zen?" he complained.

Obi looked surprised at Kiki. "Did he sleep in my bed after all?" he asked her as she turned to be the last out the door.

She looked at him. "Yes. Mitsuhide was crying by the time your message came. He said he should remember to kiss your feet for knowing, and then cut you for not telling him sooner."

"Ah, Mister needs to be knowing our Master better, then doesn't he?"

Kiki smiled her faint smile. "I think he knew. He just couldn't believe it. Zen has rejected Obi so many times, after all."

Obi smiled a knowing smile at her. She closed the door behind herself, and Obi's smile turned into a sad look. "But Master needs Obi, too," he said sadly. He reached down and put his hand on top of Ilena's and rubbed a finger with his thumb. "And Obi and Master need Ilena," he whispered. He lay back down and held her again, his eyes closed but not sleeping, just listening to her breathe, thinking of the time when she could run with him.

Leah and Rio exchanged looks, then settled in for another quiet, long vigil.

-o-o-o-

"Was Obi really like what he was that time?" Shirayuki asked, referring to the time he had abandoned his duty.

"Yes," Zen answered her.

"He seemed willing to listen and discuss it, though," she said, trying to understand.

"If he had disagreed, even an order from me would not have swayed him," Zen said. "It seemed to me even Ilena had to work hard."

"I think," Kiki spoke up, "this time the room was his tree. Before, he would listen to us or to Zen if we went to him, but he would not come down. If he was not in the tree, he could not be found."

Mitsuhide nodded. "It seemed to me to be that. We would not be able to move him from the room except by force. But this time, it's different."

He was looked at in surprise by more than one of his companions. "It's different?"

"This time we may all support him."

The silence of agreement met his assessment.

-o-o-o-

Ilena shivered and took a shaky breath. She had been having confusing dreams where things and people would shift in strange ways. Obi, Zen, Shirayuki, and a certain young man kept shifting in and out. She would reach for them when they appeared, then they would disappear as if made out of smoke she had disturbed, and cruel laughter would echo around her. She whimpered in fear and desperation.

A strong, warm hand slid under the back of her head and lifted it. Obi's voice came to her through the disturbing images in her mind. "Ilena. I'm going to give you the next dose now, then I will in a few minutes give you the pain reducing medicine. Please drink it." His voice sounded so sad. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she was all of a sudden having to pay attention to swallowing. It helped her to push away the dream a little more. Then she was being returned to the bed.

She lifted her hand, looking for Obi. He had turned away to give the cup to Shirayuki, who had come about a half an hour before, after the office had finished eating dinner. Ilena found his shirt and grasped onto it. He turned back surprised, and gently removed her hand from his sleeve so he could turn to face her, surprised she wasn't very willing to let go easily.

"I'm here, Ilena," he said to her. Then, when she let go of his hand and reached for him again, he grasped her hand and placed it over his heart. She clutched his shirt again. "What is it?" he asked her, and passed his hand over her forehead.

She shivered again. "Don't...don't let him take me away. He is ...always laughing... Don't disappear." Her grip on his shirt tightened in desperation.

Obi leaned over her and put his forehead on hers. "I won't. We have promised, Master and I. We will protect you from him, but you must live so that you can tell Master the things he needs to know."

Ilena's head moved against his in a nod. "Together... Together we can defeat him."

"Then we shall do it, together." Obi promised. Ilena finally relaxed, but she did not release him from the grip she had on his shirt. Obi lifted his head. He could see the pain was starting to rise within her. "Mistress," he warned her.

"I'll do it," she said softly, and placed her hand on Obi's shoulder, gripping it to support both herself and him. Ilena would have to go through pain twice for each dose. Once for the withdrawal symptoms and again for the payment. The medication they would give her wasn't for this pain, but for the next. Giving her the Little Death now would calm this pain and cover it with the hibernation state, but it could take up to fifteen minutes for it to enter her system. Doctor Elliot had explained that because she was not eating due to the surgery, it would likely take effect much faster than that as her body absorbed the liquid and the drug quickly. They would have to make sure she had the medication before she slipped into that state, but it couldn't be given too soon.

Shirayuki released Obi's shoulder, then she picked up the vial and walked around to Ilena's other side. Ilena shuddered again. This time it was in physical pain, and she gasped. She breathed with the pain instinctively for a while, then clenched her jaw against it. Obi slipped his hand under her head again, readying to lift it. He rubbed his thumb against her jaw. "Ilena, you will need to allow us to give you the medicine. Can you relax just a little?"

She shook her head. Obi looked at Shirayuki. She was looking concerned. "Be prepared, Mistress," he warned her. She nodded and knelt by Ilena, preparing to give her the medicine.

Obi continued to rub Ilena's jaw, trying to get it to loosen. Then he leaned in very closely to her ear and whispered very softly, so only she could hear. "I will have to kiss you very passionately, then." He got the reaction he was looking for. Her jaw dropped open in surprise. He immediately lifted her head and guided Shirayuki's hand to her mouth. Shirayuki quickly put the vial to Ilena's lips and tipped it. Ilena almost didn't get it swallowed, she was still so surprised.

When Obi had laid her head back down, Ilena called, "Nana?"

Leah looked up in surprise. "Yes, Mistress?"

Ilena opened her eyes and looked angrily at Obi. "Remember this: when I am first able, I owe Obi a sharp rap to the head. Several of them."

"Oh, my. And he had been doing so well, too...," Leah sighed melodramatically.

Obi's eyes danced. "That was very effective."

"You are still very mean, Obi," Ilena narrowed her eyes at him.

Shirayuki looked from one to the other, sitting back on her heels. Finally she decided she didn't really want to know what he'd said. It would only place her more in the middle of their fighting again. She sighed. "Really, Obi. Was it necessary to go to that extreme, to make her mad again?" She looked into Ilena's eyes. "Though, I will have to agree with him. It was very effective. So much so you are very awake right now. That is unexpected."

Ilena flashed a slight grin. "That is true. I wonder what he'll have to try next time, though...?" Then she turned back to Obi, angry again. "But if you try that one again, you'll have to follow through for as many times as you've said it."

He looked at her mildly. "Is that supposed to frighten me?"

She puffed up her cheeks and narrowed her eyes, looking just like a chipmunk, but not a cute one, rather an angry one. She let it go suddenly and looked at him, and into him. She sighed, and winced in pain. When she recovered, he could see she had taken the first steps into the hibernative phase. She looked at him and said softly, "Ah, Obi. Have you moved so far since I've been able to look at you?" She raised her hand and touched his face with the back of it. "I'm sorry."

He reached up, slipping his hand between hers and his face, then wrapped his middle finger around hers. Her hand slowly pulled their joined hands down to the bed as her eyes closed and she slipped into the descent. He sighed and put his other elbow on the bed, and rested his chin in his hand, watching her move farther and farther from him again.

Shirayuki shook her head. "Did she just forgive you?"

"No. She just asked me to forgive her, did you not hear it?" Obi smiled at his Mistress.

"I heard it, but I didn't understand it."

"Well...that's okay. She understood it." Obi was looking at Ilena again.

"Haahh...," Shirayuki stood and dusted nothing off her knees. "I'm feeling like Zen sometimes feels." She looked at Obi sharply. "So, have you settled it then? Or will this happen again next time?"

Obi raised an eyebrow. "Well, that will have to depend on if she remembers it or not, I think."

"Obiii...," Shirayuki actually whined at him, slightly, but it was there.

Obi looked at her in surprise, then seriously shook his head at her. "If she doesn't remember it, I won't do it again when she can't. But she does have to remember it. Master has told me it is my duty."

Shirayuki sighed. "All right. I'll accept that."

Behind them, Leah smiled.


	25. Comprehending the Full Scope of the Test

_Thank you to my daily readers who keep me going! Loves!_

 _If you can stick with me into Book 2, I explain a lot of what will happen in the next few chapters in that 'book'. (I'll say again...I've written this more as a Light Novel. The 'book' breaks are only for my convenience.)_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 25 Comprehending the Full Scope of the Test**

By the time Ilena was starting to come out of the hibernative state, Leah and Rio had both retired for the night. They had asked if Obi wanted Thayne to come and he'd said no. He looked at Shirayuki. "Mistress. She is beginning the ascent. You should leave now."

Shirayuki considered his words. They were dismissing her, but she had the right to stay, both as Ilena's medical provider, and as her mistress. She stood. "You must have a reason for wanting to be alone with her, but I won't go far. I'm concerned there may be complications, so I'll wait in the courtyard. Call me."

Obi nodded, and watched her as she left, then looked at Ilena again. They had once again set a candle behind the vase to give gentle light to the room that wouldn't be disturbing. Her features were softened by the light and by the fact that she was lying down. He wondered if he would recognize her when she was finally able to be upright, forgetting he had actually seen her sitting up just a few days prior. In his imagination, what she looked like wavered. When he thought of the steward, he pictured someone with hard, cold features. When he talked to one of the Children about Mother, he saw someone with a quick smile and tender eyes. The woman in front of him was a mix of the two. Her face could go hard and cold very quickly, but just as fast it could show tenderness. She loved to smile, but was apparently a consummate player of the court games. That required not showing any strong emotion at all. He couldn't picture that, but Zen, Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Shirayuki had all assured him she was very capable of it.

He was about to touch that face that had been either so still in sleep or marred by pain for the last three days, remembering the emotions he'd been able to see when she had reacted to his teasing, glad for them, when she took the first breath that heralded the sleep talking phase. He stopped and put his hand back down. This would be the last of the longer sleep talking phases. The rest would be too short for conversations. It was the one thing he _would_ miss about this damnable drug. It was why he wanted to be alone with her, though of course it didn't mean she would say anything useful.

"Obi? Obi? ...Where are you?" For a moment, he couldn't say anything. This was the first dream she had ever had that included the present him from the beginning. "Where did you go?"

"I'm right here," he said quietly. "What do you need?"

She took a sharp breath, as if surprised by his 'appearance'. "Ah. Are you there?"

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

She frowned. "Tell Zen... Tell Zen... It's important."

He was about to ask what he should tell him, when he remembered that she was supposed to have blocked this kind of thing from being spoken. She would likely not be able to tell him at this point. "What is the key?" he asked instead.

"When it's time, when he asks the question, only Obi's voice will be heard. Both must be there, but only Obi will be able to ask."

"Ok. I'll tell Master. Do you know the question?"

"Zen knows the question. He said he would wait."

"Okay. I understand."

"...what is Obi's question?"

Obi paused, then said quietly, "Does Ilena love the Obi of today?"

"...Yes. Very much so. But Ilena is afraid."

This time, Obi did touch her cheek. "Obi is afraid, too." Did he have time for one more? "Why did Ilena make Obi to be Father?"

"..."

Obi put his head in his hands. It seemed either he was too late, or this part of her couldn't answer it.

"...Obi," it was Mother's voice. "You already know."

Obi's eyes went wide, and his heart lurched. "When did I understand it?"

"When you first loved my Children." He knew it. He could feel it from his depths.

"You're right," he answered, "but I did not know how to see it."

"Do you now?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Good. ...I love you, Father. Please continue to love my Children."

He took her hand. "I will."

She slipped away. He lay his head down on his arms at her side, glad to be alone with her at this time, wishing it would last...that the next phase wouldn't come.

But come, it did. Her breathing changed. He slowly got up and walked around the bed. Her breathing increased until she was gasping, then she cried out in pain. He put his hand on her, to let her know he was there, but as of yet, she was not arching in pain. She gasped again and again. Obi growled at her. "Stay. Alive!" To him, it looked like she was fighting against the pain. Fighting to not cry out, but it was still just the beginning. She finally gave way again. "Ah...ah…AAHHH!" her jaw clenched and she hissed.

The door behind Obi opened, then closed. He ignored it until the person spoke. "Obi. What can I do?"

He turned his head and looked at his Master with eyes that were deep with sorrow and anger. He pointed to the opposite side of the bed, where he had been before. "Stand there. When she begins to arc because of the pain, we must hold her so that she doesn't damage the hip."

Zen obediently moved into place. Ilena was continuing to hiss in pain with each breath. Zen looked at her curiously, then at Obi with the same expression. "I thought there was more than this?" he carefully tendered.

"She's fighting it." Obi said, his voice matching his expression. "She should not be aware enough to, but she is. ...There are things I must tell you, when it is over."

Zen nodded. Obi saw a tremor go through her and he placed his hands to support her hip, but waited other than that. Zen followed his example. She tremored again when Zen touched her, and she moaned three times, then cried out a sound that made Zen think of a falcon in great pain and distress. This time, she did arc. Obi, practiced, held her left hip. Zen, surprised at his first experience almost let her slip, but his fighting reflexes caught her.

When her body slightly relaxed again, Obi saw her begin to fight against it again. "No!" he almost yelled it. "Fighting it will wear you out faster. Let it run it's course."

She gave a faint shake of her head. "Dammit, Woman! This is not the time to be difficult. You do NOT have the energy. Relax, and let it run it's course! Save your energy for staying alive."

Both men felt her slowly answer him. But even as her mind relaxed its control and the pain began to sweep through her, the body tensed again in reaction to it. But now, instead of crying out, she began to weep. Zen looked up at Obi. Obi was staring at her in almost surprised horror, telling him this was also unusual behavior. Obi shook his head, trying to recover himself, then looked at Zen. "Come take my place."

Zen quickly moved around the bed. As soon has he had taken Obi's place, Obi moved to her head and held her.

The door opened again. This time it was Shirayuki. She hurried to the bedside and took the place Zen had just vacated, putting her hands into place, in her practiced usual position. She looked at Obi, then Zen in concern. "The pattern was different. What's happened?"

"He said that she's aware enough to fight it. He told her to stop fighting it, to just let it run its course so she doesn't unnecessarily wear herself out. When she let go, she began...that." Zen gestured with his head. "Obi doesn't know either."

Shirayuki answered him with a horrified expression. "She's aware?"

Zen nodded soberly. "When he first told her to let it run it's course, she refused."

Shirayuki's grip on Ilena tightened momentarily and she paled. "The pain price comes before tears, after which is awareness. They are not supposed to be mixed together. I don't think even Doctor Elliot has seen this."

Obi wasn't paying attention to their words, though their sounds and voices washed around him. It helped to anchor him. He thought back to her dream, the one that had been so different. There had been two voices who had seemed to speak to him from that dream state. The latter one was Mother... "Who is it?" He asked into her ear. "Who is it that's awake?" His voice was desperate.

Ilena gasped a few times, trying to gain sufficient control to answer. "Thailena," she answered.

"Why? Why do you fight it? Why are you here?"

"I fight. I fight to live ...as I wish to live. ...Ah...Ah…" Obi turned his head away to protect his ear.

Shirayuki gripped Ilena tighter and Zen followed suit, remembering he was on the important side now. Ilena arced and screamed a long scream. She shuddered as it wound down, then began to shiver. Shirayuki looked around and grabbed the top covering off the other bed and threw it over Ilena, giving her another layer. The shivering did not lessen.

"Mistress," Obi gestured quickly to his jacket, requesting it. She pulled it off the chair and handed it to him. He wrapped it around Ilena's head to keep in the heat there, too, then wrapped his arms around her again. She soon stopped shivering, though tremors still went through her, causing her to moan each time.

"What caused the wall to be breached?" Obi asked Ilena. "Why are you here?"

She turned her head towards him. "Because Obi and Zen are nearly ready. The question has been breached."

Obi dropped his head to the bed. "Damn. We did move to fast for you, then?"

"It is of no consequence. When you are ready, you are ready. It is only I who will hold you back, in this state."

"This state?" He turned his head towards her again.

"I must be able to...run and ride...before the next...phase...can begin." Her body was beginning to build up to it's limit for the pain again. Her breaths were coming in gasps again.

"Can I do it for you?" he almost begged the question, but he would have to wait for the answer. He turned his head away.

This time her scream was a lower "Aaaarrrggghhhh!" of almost frustration, and her jaw clenched again. Zen and Shirayuki noticed she didn't arch as much as the last time. Shirayuki looked at Zen in small relief. "She is beginning to come down from it already," she told him.

Obi shrugged the helpful comment off in frustration. He still wanted to hear what Thailena had to say, but she would probably not be available after this for some time. He asked her again. "Can I do it for you, if you cannot run or ride?"

"Sorry, no. You can help...though," a tremor went through her, interrupting her words. She gasped for a few breaths, but her body did not tense.

"How can I contact you again? I want to speak with you again," he asked her.

"When everything is in place, ...the walls will be gone. ...I...will...come again...when needed...before then." The last was whispered faintly. Obi knew she was gone.

He clung to her - his princess. As her shudders faded, his began, and he sobbed the same as he had the first day Zen had come to Osterly. But this time, the arms that comforted him were Ilena's.

"Ah, Obi," Ilena said to him as she put her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I wanted to not have to have you go through this again. ...It's okay. I will live. I will run and ride with you again."

He heard her words and wondered. "Did you hear? Are you aware of what the parts of you who are locked away say when they come out?"

"Whispers. Remnants. When I'm in states like those. They are louder now than they used to be. If I speak it so I can hear it, I remember. ...But they are always me. I'm whole. It's only the information that is locked and keyed."

Obi shivered. Tears were still dripping from his eyes. "What do you need, Obi?" she asked him.

"Princess," the word was ripped from him. "I need my Princess."

They were speaking to each other quietly, but Zen and Shirayuki couldn't help but hear, in the now quiet of the room. They looked at each other in wonder, not understanding really why this was his answer.

"I'm here, Obi. You don't need to seek me to find me. I've come to you. I promised you I would. I'll not willingly go away again."

He nodded and held her tighter, but he began to calm. Then as she began to fade, he said to her. "Do not do what you did last night again. Don't walk away to where you are hard to reach. You have found me, but you have also promised to live. Don't forget it."

She turned her head towards his face, her lips brushing him on the cheek. "I won't," she breathed. Her arms gently released him and he sat up, wiping his face dry.

"Thank you, Master Zen," Ilena said quietly and slowly, then she slept.

Shirayuki reached out her hand for Zen. He took it, then stretching to reach at the farthest point, he walked around the bed to her side. He held her briefly. "She will sleep now?" he asked quietly. She nodded into his shoulder. He sighed. "I wish I could feel like that was safe, like she was okay now, but after last night, ...I agree with Obi."

Shirayuki pulled back slightly and smiled at him. "Obi will be with her again. She'll stay for him, like she did last night."

"Well...just in case...," Zen let her go and walked over to the opposite of where Obi was. He bent down close to her ear. "Ilena. You have also promised me you will stay alive. Be obedient to Obi. Don't forget." Ilena twitched ever so slightly. "I'll take that as your positive answer." Zen said. He stood again and looked Obi in the eye. "You have things to say to me?" Obi nodded.

Zen sat down in the chair and set Shirayuki on his lap so that he could still look at Obi and wrapped his arms around her middle. She blushed a little, but, remembering her lessons with Ilena, decided to go with happy instead of super embarrassed. "Let's hear it, then," Zen said to Obi.

Obi raised his eyebrow. "Can it be informal, then? I don't think I can do anything else with you holding Mistress like a child's toy."

Zen grinned at him. "Okay." Shirayuki couldn't keep the blush down at that, but she didn't move.

Obi somehow managed to gracefully balance himself above Ilena at the head of her bed, one leg tucked in and one outstretched around her head, facing Zen and Shirayuki. He placed his fingers gently on her neck to monitor her heart beat while he spoke.

"Mistress was here for the first part. When Ilena began to enter the time to be given the dose of the Little Death, she first was in a disturbed dream state. After I had given her the dose, she was afraid, I think from the scenes in the dream. She said, 'Don't let him take me away. He is always laughing. Don't disappear.' and she clutched at me tightly. I told her that we promised we would protect her but that she needed to live so that she could tell you the things you needed to hear. She agreed and answered, 'Together we can defeat him,' so I promised we would do it together. Then she entered the expected state of pain before we administered the medication. This is important because it followed her into the following states."

Zen looked at him surprised. "Is this why things were different?"

"Yes, I believe so, but they were all triggered by your comment to her when you left this morning."

Zen thought, trying to remember. "The one where I let her know that I knew what the test would be?"

Obi nodded. "You triggered a locked question."

"I thought I might..., though I didn't expect it to have such far reaching effects. ...So her dream was about the person who knows her in Tarc?"

Obi nodded. "I believe so. It felt that way when she spoke to me. That is, it wasn't the same as when she speaks of the Earl or her uncle."

Shirayuki looked at him surprise. "Ah...?"

Zen looked at Shirayuki, trying to decide what to tell her. "Master," Obi said, "Ilena believes it's wrong to keep Shirayuki lacking in knowledge." Zen nodded.

He explained it briefly to her. "The Earl protects himself by having other people who look like him to do some of his works. One of those people Ilena learned by accident was her uncle, a bastard son of the Selician King's second wife whom he banished to Tarc. He is an evil man and knows who she is. I believe he was the one who placed her in the position of being rescued by you and Obi so that he could claim he had 'gifted' me with her so that he could request the army of Clarines to support his bid for the Selician throne. He has no rightful claim and I don't intend to speak with him on it. Ilena herself hates and fears him, more than the Earl."

Shirayuki nodded, looking sad. Ilena had very little family left, and much of what she had had contact with in her life sounded like it had been very bad. Zen continued.

"It sounds like her dream may corroborate my theory that there is another force within Tarc that is also using the uncle, even as he is using the Earl. It's that force that is the test she is preparing me for. In my parting comment to her, I was letting her know that I understood that there was a test, that it was coming from Tarc, and that person also knows who she is and is intending on using that knowledge, and her, against us. But this is all I know so far. I was also letting her know that I would wait to hear more until after we've dealt with the Earl and her uncle. ...That's why I'm surprised it triggered more information immediately."

They both looked at Obi. He nodded and continued his report. "When she began the sleep talking it was immediately different. She spoke my name and asked for me, seeking me. Not the past, but the present."

Zen breathed in a sharp breath. "The barrier was broken?"

Obi nodded, then explained to Shirayuki, "She's explained to us that, in order for the secret things she was protecting to be safe while she was under the watchful eye and ear of the Earl, she learned first to hide away the important information behind locks that need specific keys. When I ask her a question, she answers it because I'm a key. It's the same for Master. If anyone else asked her those questions, they wouldn't receive an answer." Obi paused, focusing for a moment on Ilena's heart beat, but it was normal.

"Once, Master asked me to ask her a question, specifically relating to her uncle. He had threatened her with death if she told anyone who he was, or their relationship, so she had double locked it. Because I asked her the question, she was able to see the second lock, but couldn't give me the answer. Master was with me at the time, and was the second key, so we were able to unlock both and hear the answer."

"For Master to let her know he was ready for the next piece of detailed information about the test, he unlocked one of the locks." Zen looked at him expectantly. Obi nodded again, answering his nonverbal question. "She wanted to tell me, in the sleep talking phase, that it's double locked. She said to tell you it's important. The second key is that only my voice will be heard after you ask the question. I will have to relay any questions to her."

"So...we'll both have to ask each question in her presence? She'll have to hear us both ask?"

"Yes."

"That is very tightly defended information." Zen was rather amazed.

"Because she was answering questions in the present, I asked her another one." Obi looked down at her sleeping face and brushed her hair with his hand, running his fingers lightly over her brow. After a moment, he looked back up at Zen. "I asked her why she made Obi to be Father. The one who I had been speaking with could not, or would not, answer me. I thought perhaps she had passed from the sleep talking phase, but then Mother spoke to me." He paused significantly, watching Zen's face.

Zen's face moved quickly from confusion to amazement. "She's separated the information based on what role she plays?"

Obi nodded. "The timing between the sleep talking phase and the pain payment phase is very short. At first I was confused as to why she would be fighting the pain phase. Normally she wouldn't. ...I think she is always at some level of alertness through that phase, now that I have seen this. She already naturally knows that to let it run its course is best, having lived through it many times. So I didn't understand why she would fight. But it was when Master touched her, and she reacted to it, that I understood. She was fighting it for my sake, and then for both our sakes."

"...The last 'person' I had spoken to was Mother. I didn't want her to jeopardize herself for us, when she needs to live for our sake, not weaken herself, so I commanded her to stop. But she refused. ...Mother would not have refused. I wanted to know who the other was. Who controls the information that Master needs to know to protect Clarines? And, what would she tell me? So I needed to let you help her while I talked to her."

"It's the Princess, then. I heard her tell you."

"Did you hear all of it?"

"Mmm...no. What did you ask her when she answered, 'It is of no consequence'?"

"I had asked what had breached her sleep talking wall, and she had answered it was because your comment had breached the question and we were ready to hear the answer. I asked if we had moved too fast, remembering her response to your comment. That was her answer to that question."

"So if I wanted to ask it now, she would give me the answer?" Obi nodded. "But she also said that being able to act on the answer would have to wait until she can run and ride again." Zen frowned, and Obi nodded again. "That sounds like a connection to her wanting Falcon's Hollow for horses."

"Yes," Obi agreed. "I think when you ask the question and we unlock the second lock, you'll be able to ask her that question and she will tell you."

Zen nodded. "Because it's part of the solution to the test. But because it's behind the double lock, no one else will be able to tell us." Obi nodded soberly. Zen thought about what else she'd said. "What did she answer you at the end, when you asked her how to contact her?"

"She said that 'when everything is in place the walls will be gone'. She will 'come again when needed before then'. Though afterwards she said that she is whole. It is contradictory."

"No, she said that it was only the information that's locked. She was saying there will be more information to be said, either just the answers to this next question, or to others. Each time we seek information that is locked, she will 'come again when needed'. When all the information that she is protecting has been said, there will not be a need to protect it any longer, and the walls will be gone. But I wonder what constitutes 'everything in place'?" Zen chewed on that for a moment. "I feel like it may mean more than preparing for the test. Her board includes Shirayuki becoming Princess, and I haven't been able to see how that fits with the test. But it does fit with another thing..."

Obi and Shirayuki looked at him questioningly. Zen looked at Shirayuki. "I think to her, 'everything in place' means that she has received confirmation that my brother will let her stay in the place she wants to be in. Even over protecting myself and Clarines, she wants to protect the place she wants to be in - beside Obi, behind Shirayuki, supporting and shielding myself. There are questions still to be asked and answered in that field, even if she has answered all the ones relating to the test."

Shirayuki sat up. "She answers my questions!" The men looked at her, curious. "There have been a few questions I've asked that she's answered differently, like what you've been describing. When I asked her how she felt about Obi it was like that. I found it curious that it felt the same as when Obi and I both asked her to tell us how it was she came to be on the Little Death, though I don't think that was locked information." Obi shook his head, agreeing with her. "But I think answering my question, it was locked information, some portion of it."

"Do you remember now what you asked her and what she said?" Zen asked. It had been long enough ago he didn't expect much.

Shirayuki concentrated. "It was right after Obi left to not return." Obi flinched slightly. "I asked what she'd done and she said she'd answered his questions truthfully. But then, she looked, well, ...into me and said 'I see that you care for him, thus I will tell you'. Looking at that now, it feels like that was the unlocking of a lock." She looked at Zen and Obi to see if they believed her.

They both nodded. Obi said, "That's one of her gifts, to be able to see into the heart of a person. She already knew about you from watching me and watching Master. She tested us similarly before she would answer the first questions we asked her. It could be possible, certainly, that she has keyed some locks to you."

"Each of the things she says that was locked contains important clues, Shirayuki. While it's possible the things she said then are overcome by events, if you can remember anything, I would like to know," Zen requested.

Shirayuki nodded. "She answered that question with 'he is not so much angry as he is afraid, because I know his distant past and his present, and he never wanted the two to meet'. She said that she had never meant to cause him pain, that because he'd refused her by saying he is not the person she believes him to be, to her he is not. I asked her why Obi was so afraid of his past and she answered that it was because his past was full of darkness and death and for anyone to know of his present connection to that past was to present to him his own death. Obi has himself said things to me since then that tell me this is true."

"I asked her if she was a danger to Obi. Her answer relieved me, but seemed odd. She said 'no' and, 'My only role in this life is to be a protector of others, and I've protected Obi since we were very young. He will not die, and most assuredly he will not die because of me. If I can't help him to understand because he will not, then I'll continue as before - protecting him from a distance without any acknowledgement. The one does not require the other.' The answer was so odd I have remembered it. I asked one more question. I asked 'what is Obi to you?' She seemed surprised that I'd asked her, but she answered 'the man I love and wish to stand next to the remainder of my days'. She fell asleep right after that, but I couldn't believe that she would love Obi with that wish yet at the same time be okay with him never acknowledging her while she protected him from a distance."

Zen looked at Shirayuki shrewdly. "Was it after this conversation that you decided to ask for her, to stand as Obi's partner?"

"Yes, but I had to look at Mitsuhide and Kiki first to see that it could happen that way. I was trying to think of some way to help her, while also helping him."

"She set the stage for the first, and most important, move with her answer. She knew who she was talking to," Zen leaned back a bit and thought. " _If I can't help him to understand because he will not, then I'll continue as before - protecting him from a distance without any acknowledgement. The one does not require the other_ _._ ...Obi, I have answers to the remainder of what she said, but does this one have meaning to you?"

Obi seemed to blush a little, though the light was not strong enough to tell for sure. "Yes, Master. When I talked with Thayne last night before sending him away, one of the things he said was that she protects all of her Family, but her Immediate Family the most. I complained that I wasn't feeling very protected, and he scolded me, saying that not only had she not let anyone know who I was until last fall, when she let everyone know who I was at that time, everyone understood that wherever I was, I was to be protected. It doesn't matter to them that I do or do not know who they are."

"That is the 'protecting him from a distance' side, then." Zen said. " _The former doesn't require the latter_. Then what is the former? 'If I can't help him to understand because he will not'?"

"It is referencing my title as Father again, but this time in regard to what it means."

Zen looked at him, wide eyed. "She told you?"

Obi nodded. "I asked her why Ilena made Obi to be Father. She answered me, 'you already know it'." He touched his chest over his heart. "My heart answered she was right, but I still couldn't - didn't - want to see it. I asked her 'when did I understand it'? She answered, 'when you first loved my Children', and she asked me again to love her Children."

Zen was still confused and waited for Obi to explain further. "They are like me. They have lived in the darkness, have tasted of her love and light, and they thrive or fail based on her life and light. When I am with them, I have compassion on them, the same as she did and does. I desire to protect them, the same as she does. When they speak of her, I understand them. Many of them who know me have said that we are the same, or similar. They learn to love me very quickly as they love her."

"It is a direct reference to her prior statement, 'My only role in this life is to be a protector of others'. I am Father because she wishes to protect them. She has set them to protect me, the same as they protect her, and she has set me to protect them...from her own eventual death or when she is taken from out of her place to be put somewhere far from them. I am Father because I can be to them the parent she may not be able to be. Even if I did not come to understand this, or would not stand in that place, if they all believe that is what I am, they will still have a parent to cling to. If she lives and can stand in her place, we will be Father and Mother together to them, and they will be none the wiser."

Shirayuki looked like she was trying to not cry. Zen was stunned. "Even before she knew she was going to be harmed and placed with us, she was protecting them in this way?" Obi nodded. "Why? Why would she already know...? Was it because she had finally removed the last good out of the house?"

"Maybe..., but I'm afraid," Obi said. Zen looked at him. "It is the rest of what she said to Mistress. That she has protected me since we were very young is true, but why did she say 'he will not die, and most assuredly he will not die because of me'? I don't believe it's because of the Earl, nor even the uncle. It is Master who will ensure I do not die at their hands."

Zen's eyes went wide. "The force in Tarc knows who _you_ are?"

Obi shook his head. "I don't think so. I don't know anyone from Tarc, nor have ever had an opportunity to. I think it has to do with the position she placed me in from the beginning, and her desire to protect me the way she has since we were young. Master, what does the force in Tarc want with her and Clarines, or Wilant?"

"To own it, and rule it as his own, the same as he rules Selicia. A puppet government would be enough for him, but Ilena stands in his way." Zen answered automatically, then went back and thought about what he'd just said, and his eyes got as round as Obi's were after hearing that. "Oh, my. If he has to get to Ilena, he has to go through you. Whether he will use her the same as the uncle, to grant him legitimacy for both kingdoms, or whether he will remove her after removing me because she's a thorn in his side. He doesn't have to know who you are. If you've been placed to protect her he has to go through you."

Obi nodded. "You have answered my fear. She has said it. Before she can become the cause of a war, she will remove herself as a playing piece on the board. She will sacrifice herself before she will sacrifice me, and probably before she will sacrifice you." He placed a hand protectively on Ilena's head.

Zen and Shirayuki both went pale. Zen's hand went into a fist. "She can't. I won't let her have the need."

Obi asked gently, "If that was the solution King Brother asked for, because she is too high ranking a piece, even higher than he is, would you be able to say 'no'?"

Zen paled even further. "Why do you say that, Obi?" he said in a quiet, strangled voice. "Why do you place her higher than he is?" His brain did not want to accept it.

Obi looked sad. "Because she can make one man into a king of three nations."

Zen closed his eyes and was quiet for some time. Shirayuki turned and put her arms around him and held him. He buried his head into her shoulder and trembled. Shirayuki looked for anything to say, then she said simply. "Zen, Ilena already knows this. She has already begun moving to prevent it. She herself has said that she will live if she can, standing in the place she wishes to stand. That is where she _wants_ to be. We've promised to help her be in that place, so we've already promised to protect her from that fate. It's not wrong of her to desire to protect her Children...and all of us. All good parents think of their children's futures, but that doesn't mean such things must come. As you want her to trust you to protect her, you should also trust her, that she wants to protect you and her desires."

Obi added his support. "She said to me, when I asked her why she was fighting the pain of the Little Death, that she fights. She said she fights to live as she wishes to live. Everything she does is so that she can do the thing you have said. She fights always and most to protect her desire to stand next to Obi, behind Mistress, and supporting and protecting Master. In her dream, she said he is 'always laughing'. She sees him as formidable, but she said that 'together', we can defeat him. If Master, and Obi, and Mistress, and King Brother, and Mister, and Miss Kiki, and the Family are all fighting together, we can defeat him."

Zen took a breath, then another. "It is not a burden I need to pick up today," his voice was muffled in Shirayuki's shoulder. "It will wait. She will let me know when time shortens, and we have until she can ride before we must begin to act." His voice was getting stronger as he listed the position they were in at the moment. "I can think of things that will help as time passes. But for now, it is important to take the next step, that of removing the Earl and uncle, lest they remain his allies, and additional thorns for Clarines."

 _You could just give her to one of them. That would remove her from the board, a sacrificed piece, but still living_. It was his brother's voice. Zen shook his head at the phantom of his brother. That would not be living. Sacrificed, yes, but not living. "You're right, Obi, my brother did just ask if I would sacrifice her, as if he had been standing here." Shirayuki tightened her grip on him. She was afraid of the King. "He said to me, why not just give her to one of them? That would remove her from the grasp of the man who would be emperor. She would be a sacrificed piece, but still living."

Now it was Shirayuki's turn to tremble, but Zen lifted his head and looked at Obi, his eyes dark and piercing, as he had looked when he'd gone looking for Shirayuki when she had been double kidnapped. "I will never do that. Ilena has thought of a plan, has a solution. She has come to me, trusting me to be able to make it even better. She is sure of her path, though it may be rough. I will help to make it smooth. We will grant her desires. She will not be sacrificed. That would be my failure. The test will only be acceptably passed if we can place her where she desires to be. I will ask you again. I will take her with me. Will you support it?" He looked at Shirayuki as well.

They both nodded. They loved Ilena also. Zen stood, his strength restored. He continued to hold on to Shirayuki's hand. "While I don't know yet why having you as my princess very soon is part of her plan, let's work on it very seriously." Then he paused and looked at her again. "Besides, it's already too late for me. I wish I could take you to my room tonight. I'm sorry I'm impatient. Thank you for supporting me tonight."

Shirayuki squeezed his hand. "I'm also impatient, but for now I must wait on Ilena to recover. Though, I will do all I can while I wait. But..." She smiled at him, "I will not come to your room tonight."

Zen smiled back at her. "I didn't expect you would. Let me walk you back to your room, though." She nodded.

"Be safe," Obi called to them as they left. And after the door was closed, added, "...though it would be nice if you weren't."

He lifted himself from the bed carefully, prepared for bed, and once again lay next to Ilena, placing his fingers again on her neck to feel her life blood still moving through her - proof that she was keeping her promise. He sighed. What a complicated woman. It was a good thing she was his.


	26. Weaning Ilena Off the Little Death Again

**CHAPTER 26 Weaning Ilena Off the Little Death, Redoux**

Zen walked Shirayuki back to her room. He had come to support Obi during the hardest time for Ilena on purpose. It was his way to want to experience what others were experiencing so that he could understand them. He knew Obi hated the Little Death, and he had received reports about it, but had not seen it himself. Visiting when Ilena was living it had seemed a good opportunity for multiple reasons. "That was not a normal pain cycle, was it?" he asked Shirayuki now.

She shook her head. "Even for her that was very mild. Because she is on low doses, her pain cycles are lesser than a regular user, or so I've been told. Her very first cycle I experienced was excruciating, for her and for us. She screamed for over five minutes, or so Obi says. It took most of his strength the whole time to hold her from reinjuring her hip. It felt like an hour. Even the next four nights were bad, though not as bad as that first one. It wasn't until the doses became very low that they became more like this one. Even then, this one was odd. That was why I came in. I was worried about complications, and that you and Obi were not able to come tell me."

Zen had met Shirayuki outside the room when he arrived. She'd told him that Obi had asked her to let him be alone with Ilena for the sleep talking phase. Because Obi had told her to not come in unless there were complications, Zen had told her he would go in for her when they heard Ilena's first cry. "I wouldn't have thought Ilena was aware, today or any day, during the pain phase. She said that it fades during the time of sleeping afterwards, though, so perhaps I should not be so surprised." Shirayuki continued.

"It's hard to think that someone we care about must understand they are going through such pain," Zen said gently, remembering a certain Obi who had said something similar to him.

"Yes, that's true," Shirayuki agreed. "...It was odd to me because once the screams start in earnest, they don't stop until they taper off at the end, even if the time is short. For her to be able to do what she did just now...I don't understand it. She was obedient to Obi, wasn't she? She stopped fighting it, it seemed to me?"

Zen nodded. "There seemed to be something different to me, though it was my first time seeing it. I wonder, like Obi, if she really is whole...but I don't know if there's a way to tell."

Shirayuki frowned. "It didn't seem to be that to me. It seemed to be more...like the effect of the drug was actually less. Like when she was coming off it before. I wonder if it was because she was given the lowest dose at this time that Doctor Elliot could give her? ...I'll look at her medical record tomorrow and compare this evening's dose to what I was giving her before and see where she would have been then."

Zen looked up. "That would be good to know." They had arrived outside her door. He gave Shirayuki a goodnight hug and kiss, then _didn't_ enter her room when she did. He did go wake up Mitsuhide and have his overanxious aide walk him to his room. He suspected Mitsuhide had been waiting up for him, or had been listening for him, anyway. At least, he hadn't been surprised when he'd knocked, and had quietly just accompanied him.

"How are they doing?" Mitsuhide asked him once they were in the halls.

"It was milder than they expected," Zen answered. "Shirayuki thinks it's because the dose was so low, but she's going to confirm it tomorrow. Ilena was able to come through the hibernative state fine. Obi is still not better, though. He may need extra time to recover. I wish I could say he could have it. ...He told me that he'd spoken to Mother during the sleep talking phase and she told him why he was Father."

Mitsuhide raised an eyebrow. "He didn't like it?"

"Not really. It's so if she can't stand in the place of her choosing, her Family still has a parent to watch over them, though he doesn't have to do anything. She placed him to be merely a figurehead if that's all he's willing to be, but I don't think that is all he will settle for anymore - not now that he's become involved with them. They are also his protection if she isn't able to be here to protect him."

"She doesn't believe you'll protect her?"

"She set it up before she knew when or if she would come, last fall."

"Mmmm. But that doesn't answer my question, does it?"

"I don't know." It was the only answer Zen could give to the question. He wasn't so sure right at that moment _he_ could answer it.

After Zen was in bed, he lay there thinking. While he hadn't lied to Shirayuki and Obi, he hadn't told them everything either. He didn't know why Ilena wanted a Princess Shirayuki as soon as possible, but he had all of a sudden been presented a reason why _he_ should want it. Ilena was a temptation for _anyone_ in power. Even his own brother would divorce his queen wife if he had within himself an ounce of a desire for empire building. Zen was pretty certain that he, Zen, had no desire for empire building himself - Ilena probably believed it too or she wouldn't have been planning on coming to him - but that didn't mean he didn't comprehend the temptation. The sooner he could marry Shirayuki, the sooner his intentions with regard to Ilena would be understood. His brother was likely looking for that, and once the lords knew, they would most certainly be looking at it.

Zen groaned and rolled over. If the lords found out before he was married to Shirayuki, or at least made his intentions to marry her very clear, they might scrap the list in his desk and put Ilena on a plate for him, cousin or not. Though...he might be able to be protected from that if he appealed to Izana and his brother openly sided against Ilena as a potential mate.

Likely some of this reason was within the scope of Ilena's plans. After all, she was very good at understanding strategy, including political strategy. That also meant she usually had multiple reasons for doing things. Some day she might tell him the other reasons...maybe. The best solution for now, really, was to move forward with haste on the Make Shirayuki a Princess project.

He sighed. No wonder Ilena was complaining that he was moving too fast and that she was impatient with her injury. There was an awful lot to do in as short an amount of time as possible. Well, they would have to move as they could. Some things weren't possible to push except at certain times. It made Zen remember the time his brother had asked for a castle for his birthday and then had patiently used it's construction to bring down two corrupt lords. Kings and countries didn't move quickly, but when necessary they could be very decisive at a moment's notice.

It was like his own goal right now. He was carefully planning and setting up the nets that would trap more than the Earl. Once they were all firmly in place, he would close them quickly so the fish he desired couldn't escape. It was the same with Ilena. She had been planning for the same thing for most of her life already. Zen paused. She had said that Tarc had been just as patient in bringing down the ruling family of Selicia. Only she had been left alive. Had that been on purpose? Had the person in Tarc, who knew who she was, made sure she would live? Had his goal to become an emperor of three nations begun as far back as her birth, or even the marriage of his aunt to the Third Prince of Selicia?

He shook his head. That didn't seem too plausible, since he wouldn't have known they would have a daughter, but he could have seen her birth, and subsequent survival, as a useful addition to his plans. Why not go for three countries when you're already in conquest mode and a helpful tool comes along? Zen considered. He personally knew very little about the governance of Tarc at the current time, at least to the depth he needed to understand in order to face the coming test. He would not be asking amiss to send to his brother requesting as much information as he would give. He would be letting his brother know he had figured it out, but earlier for that would be better. He would just have to word the request such that he didn't imply Ilena and her network were insufficient to support him. He sighed again. He really hated sending letters to Izana. There should be some other way without having to ask the next question to Ilena. He pondered a little longer, then fell asleep in the middle of a thought.

He was still thinking about it in the morning when he walked into the Rose office. He was a bit late from his second interrupted night in a row. He looked around the office and saw Dane and Tairn huddled together over one of their desks. He stopped, staring at them. She'd already given him the tool he needed. He started walking again. "Dane, come to my desk, please." He got lots of surprised looks for his sudden order.

Zen sat down at his desk and looked at Dane. "I need information on Tarc and its current governance. To the point of detail of names, roles, and responsibilities. Ages and family situation would be appreciated if obtainable. I'm coming to you because Ilena is currently unavailable. Please see that I receive the information as soon as possible."

"Zen, will this be in addition to his other duties, or are you reassigning him for a time?" Kiki asked for clarification.

"In addition to." Zen looked at her as if it should have been obvious. She blinked.

"Yes, Zen," Dane bowed, still saying the informal very carefully, still unsure he should be. "We should be able to have the report to you sometime tomorrow."

"I can't just have Ilena's most recent one?"

"It no longer has that level of detail." Dane's answer was smooth and without pause. Zen was impressed. His mouth quirked up slightly.

"I see. Well, then I'll wait if I must, but it is of high priority." He dismissed Dane by pulling out his first document for the day.

Dane bowed again and returned to his desk. He wrote a quick message and took it to the messengers outside the door. Then he returned to his discussion with his brother. Kiki surreptitiously looked from Dane to Zen. Zen was satisfied. Well, she was, too, if that's all the distraction it had been for her precious assistant.

-o-o-o-

Obi was brought to awareness by the heartbeat of Ilena. It had increased in tempo and strength. As he continued to increase in awareness he checked her breathing. She was in pain.

There was a knock at the door. He heard Rio - her footsteps were lighter and more energetic - walk to the door and open it slightly to see who had come to visit.

"Ah. Mister Ryuu."

Obi was up off the bed and standing behind Rio, pulling the door open wider, before Ryuu could finish saying good morning. He saw the vial in Ryuu's hand. "She's just now needing that, Ryuu," Obi said cheerfully. "Your timing this morning is excellent."

Ryuu blinked at him, then smiled his slow, shy smile. Obi moved out of the way to head back towards Ilena, making sure Ryuu was following him.

"Really, Master Obi. You shouldn't appear at the door in such a state," Rio scolded him as she also reentered the room.

"And what state is that?" he asked her over his shoulder, winking at Ryuu, who had already recognized the teasing twinkle in Obi's eye.

"A mess," she sighed. "You've only just come from sleeping, after all."

Ryuu looked worried. "Did I wake you?"

"No, no." Obi waved his hand. "She did," he pointed with his thumb at Ilena. "She's in pain."

Ryuu walked quickly over to Ilena, spoke to her, and helped her to drink the medicine. Obi watched Ryuu as he gently brushed the hair back from her forehead, then placed his hand there to confirm her temperature. He put the vial in a pocket and put his other hand on his own forehead to compare. "Not too high. That's good." He checked Ilena's heart rate while watching her breathing. He nodded in agreement with Obi's assessment. "It's good her heart is stronger today," Ryuu said quietly.

Obi looked at him knowingly. "You like Ilena."

Ryuu blushed, then looked frightened. "Ah, but it isn't like that! She has already said..."

Obi looked at him curiously. "What did she already say?"

"When we first met...," Ryuu could not look up, "she said that I shouldn't think of her that way. That Prince Zen wouldn't give her to me. That was when she told me that I should go visit The Scholars Tavern. ...I've been thinking I'll go back this next week, actually." Ryuu finally looked up at this last statement.

Obi smiled at him. "That sounds like fun. Will you go yourself this time?"

Ryuu paused, then nodded. "I thought I might. It would be a good experience for me." He was actually looking strong, or so thought Obi.

"I think it will be a very good thing for Ryuu," Obi said encouragingly. He felt Rio shift, and had a thought. "What day will you go?"

"Ah, my next evening off is next Tuesday. I will go then."

"Good luck, then. Drink one for me, okay?"

Ryuu looked at him aghast. "I cannot do that, Obi, or I will not make it home."

Obi laughed. "You do not have to drink my drinks, Ryuu. Well, then make a toast to me, so I will have been there in name at least."

Ryuu smiled. "I will do that. If you need anything else today, please let me know."

"I will," Obi promised. "Thanks for bringing that over."

Ryuu waved as he left the room.

"Will you be wanting Tuesday evening off, Miss Rio?" Obi asked nonchalantly, not quite looking at her.

"If I went it would be to take your name in vain, Master Obi," she answered.

"Ah, I'm not liked, ehhh?" He looked over his shoulder at her.

She ignored him. She was working on a document of some kind, he could see. Well, it wouldn't do to have her not liking him, but it would also not do to provoke her. He left her alone and got himself ready for the day.

It occurred to him it was perhaps a bit late in the morning. "Ah, perhaps it is that, unlike Miss Leah, Miss Rio does not know how to make Obi let her do her duty to her Mistress, so Miss Rio is distressed?" He was looking at her, his head tilted to one side questioningly.

Rio looked up at him swiftly, shock on her face. "H-how would you know that?"

Obi smiled. "Because normally Miss Rio is very quiet and hiding in the shadows, but there is no Miss Leah here today. She entrusted Mistress to you but you aren't sure how to go about getting it done."

Rio snapped her mouth shut. "Well, it would be something like that, yes." Her eyes flashed.

"I don't bite, Miss Rio. You can hit me in the head with a book if it suits you. That's what Mister does." Rio looked disturbed. "Just please don't do what Miss Kiki does."

"What is that?"

Obi narrowed his eyes at her. "...No, I don't think I'll tell you. You're the kind that would do it." His face went back to jovial. "Well you will have to pick what works best for Miss Rio to wake up Obi." He paused and got a little more serious. "Rio," her eyes went wide, "I understand you care for Ilena also. I may be grumpy or worried, but really, I'm not any different than anyone else in the Family. If there's a thing you want or need to do for her, I won't stand in your way, nor be offended. You may tell me." She stared at him with round eyes for a moment, then nodded. "Shall we get Ilena ready for her day together, then? And I'm sorry to have slept in."

Rio put aside her document and rose to join him. "Thank you, Master Obi. ...Though that's the first time I've been able to experience Father for myself."

As Obi removed the covers from Ilena, he answered her, "No, Miss Rio. I'm always Father. That is the first time you have looked."

She had no answer but to ponder on his words.

-o-o-o-

Ilena felt herself waking up. It was a rather surprising sensation, and she observed it for a while. Strange things ached about her middle areas. She felt her face wrinkle a little in reaction. Then she decided she didn't like that and made it smooth out again. She took a deep breath to ease the ache some, then decided she might open her eyes.

Obi was sitting on the bed next to her, taking up all her view. His chin was in his hand, his elbow resting on the knee he had tucked up under him. "Good afternoon. Have you joined us again for a bit?" His eyes were twinkling and his tone just a bit teasing, but she thought he looked more just a regular happy.

"It seems I have," her sleepy surprise came through somewhat. "You seem pleased. Have good things happened?"

He shrugged. "You waking up is a good thing. You've been doing an excellent job of staying alive this time."

"Oh? Well, that's good then." She rested for a bit. It seemed to take some energy to talk.

"How are you feeling?"

"Mmmm. I ache about the middle, seemingly in odd locations. And I am weary. But otherwise, it's perhaps okay."

"Doctor Elliot found a few more things left over from the landslide injury that Doctor Bonner missed. Perhaps those corrections are what you're feeling in addition to the expected pain."

"Mmmm. Perhaps." She thought she'd like to close her eyes now, and they obeyed.

"Are you going to sleep again so soon?" He actually sounded disappointed.

"No...I don't think so. Where are we in the cycle?"

"...We don't know." Her eyebrow lifted in question. "You still should have two more treatments, minimum. Doctor Elliot expected at least one more than that. But based on your reaction to the amount you were given yesterday evening, they are guessing you may on you own only need one more. Though they don't know which of those one doses to give you. They are still debating it."

"Ehhh… I've developed a resistance, have I? We postulated that might be a side effect from the long term use of it. ...I wonder if Doctor Elliot remembers that?"

"I'll ask him, but yes, that does seem the case."

"Well, then, the minimum dose should be sufficient. If my body needs it, it will have it. If it is sufficiently resistant, it will be the last necessary dose."

"Just like that, that is the answer, huh?"

She decided she didn't have the energy to answer him. "Is there something we can do about the fact that I don't have any energy at all?" she asked instead.

"Well, food would help with that, but are you hungry at all?"

Her stomach gurgled in answer. She blushed lightly. "Not until you asked, though Mistress Shirayuki's tea sounds better. The one she made for me the first time."

"Well, if you can stay awake long enough, I'm sure I could ask for that to be made up easily enough."

Her stomach requested it again. Obi did laugh this time. "Okay. I'll go and ask." She felt his hand lightly brush hers as he rose. For some reason, she seemed to want to call him back, but it would take too much effort, so she didn't.

For a while she just floated in a peaceful state, sounds occasionally entering her ears. At some point it occurred to her to wonder if she had been left alone. That was an odd feeling. She hadn't been alone in a very long time - well as far as being in the presence of someone went. Her curiosity finally won out and she opened her eyes again and turned her head slowly to look around the room. She was pleased that it was a decent size. There was another bed nearby. It didn't look like it had gotten much use. She wondered idly for a moment where Obi slept. She craned slightly to finish looking around the room and caught sight of a pair of legs under a skirt. She recognized that. She closed her eyes and smiled. "I'm glad to know Rio will still keep me company, even when I'm not much company to be with."

Ilena floated in quiet peace for a while longer, then the smell of the tea woke her again. She opened her eyes. Obi was holding the tea, standing nearby, a concerned look on his face. "What is it, Obi?" she asked him.

He shook his head and wiped the expression off his face. "Are you ready for some tea?" he asked her.

"Yes. It smells very delicious."

He pulled a chair up beside the bed and with careful practice helped her to drink it. At some point, he turned to Rio and gave her some order, but the words did not penetrate well through her focus and weariness. Rio left the room on whatever errand Obi had sent her on, and shortly thereafter Ilena finished the tea. When he had laid her head to rest on the bed again, she thanked him with a smile.

He put the teacup away, then placed his hand on her head, looking at her very seriously. "Ilena, can you hear me?"

"Of course, Obi," she said.

"Will you let me test you?" he asked her

Her brow creased in confusion. "Yes. Is something wrong?"

Obi paused. "I'm not sure, yet. Will you close your eyes? When you hear my voice, raise your right hand. When you hear any other noise, raise your left hand, okay?"

"Okay," that was easy enough, if she could work up the energy. "But is it okay if I don't lift them very high? They are heavy today."

He smiled. "Just enough so I can see them is fine."

"Okay." She obediently closed her eyes. He lifted her hands and placed them on her body so they would be where he could see them and she wouldn't have to move them much.

"Okay, let's test it. Raise your right hand." She did. "Now your left." She did that as well. "Good, I'll be able to see that. Let's begin, then."

She could tell that he was starting with distance, so when he moved out of her word comprehension range she told him, "I can still hear your voice, Obi, but I can no longer make out your words." There was a pause. She wondered idly what the range was, but she was too weary to open her eyes. She continued to raise her hand when he spoke, then she could make out words again. He had asked if she could hear his words. "Yes," she answered. He moved around asking the same question. Each time she could, she answered with a yes. When all she heard was sounds, she merely raised her right hand.

She heard Obi sigh. She raised her right hand again, and grinned. "Ah, you will tease me?" he asked. "Even at such a time. ...Well, I guess it's good you are in a good mood at least. You may open your eyes."

She sighed and slowly opened her eyes to find faces surrounding her on all sides. "Ah! It's that bad, is it? What's the range, Obi?" She turned to look at him.

He was standing next to her the closest on the right side, a serious expression on his face. "Four feet to hear my words. If I speak anywhere else in the room, you hear my voice only."

She looked around the people gathered around her bed again. There was Rio, wearing her very worried expression, Ryuu. Then on the other side, Doctor Elliot, Shirayuki, and on her other close side, Zen. "You spoke in my presence again, didn't you?" she asked him. He nodded, then looked at Obi. She turned to look at him as well.

"We thought it would make no difference if you were sleeping," he explained.

"Haahhhh. Obi, even you know my ears are open at all times. The question may not have been asked," she turned back to Zen, "but if the topic is discussed, that is sufficient to prepare me to receive the question."

Zen's mouth moved, then Obi's voice came to her. "What shall we do, then? Can we reverse it until a more appropriate time to ask the question?"

"I don't know what we shall do, but how is there a more appropriate time than the time at which you are prepared to receive the information?"

Zen paused. She could see he didn't really like that answer. She hesitated, then said, "Master Zen, it will already have to wait until next time I wake up. I'm too weary to remain awake much longer. You are concerned about a thing that needs your careful attention. As long as there are holes in your understanding, will you still be able to focus on that thing, or will it worry you? ...A burden can be easier to set aside when it is fully comprehended." She paused to rest, blinking at him. "It's possible that if the topic is not spoken again by you, or Obi, in my presence, then it will settle back in the darkness until the time you wish to discuss it, but I don't know. I set the keys, but did not put time constraints upon them."

Zen's mouth moved again, and again Obi's voice followed. "Would the information rest if it was commanded?"

Ilena shrugged. She caught sight of Doctor Elliot's mouth moving. He had helped her, so perhaps he had a suggestion. The room was getting dark and she could no longer keep her eyes open, so she didn't. She walked the path back to sleep and darkness as gracefully as she had walked it to awareness, though she thought she heard a sound just before full sleep took her.

-o-o-o-

"Do you think she heard it?" Zen looked at Obi.

"Yes," Obi said. "She said it herself."

Zen sighed. "How is it?"

Obi looked at him, "It's a skill, or perhaps several skills, that we can train ourselves to in order to protect ourselves from predators. When I sleep lightly it's like that. Any sound will rouse me immediately. ...Normally, Ilena's hearing is three to four times the distance of mine and it's impossible to walk up to her without her knowing. When Miss Rio told me to be very quiet and see how close I could get to Ilena before she noticed, I thought she was joking, but she looked so concerned I did as she requested. She never did hear me walking in the room. She smelled the tea. Then, as I fed the tea to Ilena, Miss Rio spoke to Ilena, even until she was shouting, and Ilena had no reaction."

Zen turned to Rio. "What happened that made you think there was a problem?"

"After Master Obi left to retrieve the tea, Mistress Ilena lay quietly for a while, then began to look around the room. When she finally saw that I was here, she said, 'I'm glad to know Rio will still keep me company, even when I'm not much company to be with.' I asked her if she had been feeling lonely, but she didn't respond to my question. It's not like Mistress Ilena to not know when there is another person in the room, but she had to see me to know I was there."

"It doesn't seem like her to let a question go unanswered, either," Zen frowned.

Rio nodded. "At first I thought that she was merely still tired, but then I dropped my book on the ground. It was quite loud and startled even me. Mistress Ilena, however, had no reaction to it. I spoke to her again, asking if she would tell me if she was awake, and she didn't answer, but I could see her moving slightly, as if she were still awake. So when Master Obi came in shortly after that, I asked him to experiment for me. She had answered him well enough before he left, after all."

Zen nodded. "Thank you, Miss Rio." He looked at Obi, then Doctor Elliot and Ryuu. "I don't believe this is permanent, nor is it due to the other things she is going through. I'm sorry to be its cause. Obi," he turned back to his sworn man, "let me know if this happens again. If what we tried doesn't work, there will be no help for it but to ask the questions."

Obi nodded, then, seeing Zen was preparing to leave, hurriedly said, "She also gave the answer to the other issue Mistress brought to us this morning." Everyone gave him their attention. "She wasn't surprised, and said that early on she and Doctor Elliot had postulated that one of the side effects of her long term use of the Little Death would be that she would develop a resistance to it. She said that it would be only a matter of giving her the lowest dose this next time. If her body needed it, it would be present, otherwise it would be the last dose. Though it felt like she meant it would be the last dose regardless."

Doctor Elliot nodded. "I was wondering if that was the case. She thinks the lowest is acceptable?" Obi nodded.

Doctor Elliot shrugged and looked at Ryuu. Ryuu looked at Shirayuki, who sighed. "All right. Obi you may give her the lowest dose when she needs it. Is the second of those doses already prepared, in case she should need one more after that?" She looked at Doctor Elliot.

He nodded. "Obi already knows which ones they are." He pointed to the shelf that held the closed bottles, for Zen's sake.

"All right. But, Obi,..."

"I know," he smiled at her, "if there are any complications I will be sure to let someone who is very close by know immediately."

After the other four people had left, Obi looked at Rio. "With Ilena, I am never quite sure if I'm hearing good news or bad news. It seems with her, one always picks up a two-sided coin."

Rio nodded. "We have learned that it therefore does not pay to get too excited about anything, one way or the other. It is just our duty to see she does not roll off the cliff."

Obi laughed. "I see how it is you are able to sit with her, then. I will remember that. ...Actually, it's what I have to do for Master and Mistress, too. They will try to get themselves into trouble with no thought for themselves otherwise."

Rio gave him an odd look, then excused herself to her chair again. Obi returned to his vigil by Ilena's side.

-o-o-o-

Ilena began to show the first of the withdrawal symptoms about two hours before she had the evening before, just before the dinner carts were to be delivered. Obi collected one of the lowest dose containers and sent Rio to tell the pharmacy they would need the next dose of the pain reducing medicine immediately. He was glad to know that she was about done, but he felt like it was backwards. If she was resistant to the drug, wouldn't she need more to be able to have it help? Then he remembered that that had always been the reaction of the city police, to give more when it looked like their attempts to get the users clean wasn't working, and it usually failed. Ilena had always instructed them to use far less.

He opened the container, waited until he was sure it was just the right time, and lifted her head. "Ilena, it's time to take your last dose. Here you go." He put it to her lips, and she refused. His heart skipped a beat. "Ilena, there isn't much time, please take it." She refused again. He lay her back down. He swapped hands holding the cup, and took her middle finger in his, in their years-old signal. Was she now unable to hear him as well?

He watched as she forcefully pulled herself awake. Her hand let go of his and she reached for his head. He put his ear close to her. "Half. Tell Doc..tor Elliot...make it half."

"Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"Smell."

Obi jumped up and ran for the door, he reached it just as Rio opened it. "Stay with her. Hold her hand," he called to her as he ran past.

Doctor Elliot wasn't any more pleased with Obi's request than Obi had been with Ilena, but Obi was insistent. She wasn't going to take anything else. While it was steeping, and they were too, Doctor Elliot asked Obi why he believed her.

"Well, I don't smell anything at all," Obi admitted, "but she always smells it before she takes it. She smelled the tea from halfway between her bed and the door. It is like her hearing...much better than most."

"Hmmm...Well, I never did have to take it, myself," Doctor Elliot admitted. "I should ask her to write it up, if she can."

His timer went off and he poured the required amount into a clean container for Obi and sealed it. Obi was off and back at the room as fast as he could go. He was glad the guards could open the door for him. It meant he didn't have to slow down until he was beside the bed. He took the side opposite Rio, who was holding Ilena's hand and sweating slightly.

Ilena was already pained. Obi lifted her head. Her jaw was tight, but when he put the cup to her lips, she paused, then greedily drank it. When it was gone, he set her down, then dropped onto his knees and rested on the bed in relief. "... I'll say it again. Gods, woman, you are difficult! Doctor Elliot wants a full report on how you can tell how much you need by smell as payment for that."

Her hand lifted, then rested on his head and across his back, her angle being a little awkward. "Thank...you."

"Just live," he said wearily. "If you really want to thank me, then live."

"I don't know, Master Obi," Rio said from the other side of the bed. "If she lives, she'll just keep running you ragged. Are you sure _you'll_ survive?"

Obi smiled, and then Ilena laughed. It was a laugh mixed with pain, but a laugh nonetheless. Obi raised his head in surprise, then looked at Rio, who was just as surprised, but then smiled in delight. Obi smiled back. "I guess it worked, eh?" He shook his head. "Definitely a coin with two sides, every time." He put his head back down, enjoying feeling her touch, listening to her breathe through the pain. It wasn't as bad this time, that was good. "Ah!" he looked back up at Rio. "The pain medicine?"

Rio shook her head. "Mister Ryuu had come and gone by the time you arrived again. She's already had it."

He relaxed again. "Ryuu's a good man," he said.

"Yes, he is," said Rio.

Obi smiled into his arm. "I thought so. You want Tuesday night off?" He peeked over to Rio and saw the blush. "You've got it. One of the other three of us can handle it, I'm sure. ... Though I'm glad you were here today. You've been a great help. Thanks."

He missed seeing her blushing a deeper red. "I'm sorry I didn't look to see Father in you before," she said to him. "I've been properly considering it today. The fault was mine."

"...Well, if it helps you to be more capable of doing your duty now, then that's good." Obi said forgivingly. "I didn't need you rolling off the cliff, too."

*Pfft* Rio tried to hold it in, then just couldn't. As she laughed, Obi smiled. It felt good to know another of his Children understood. Ilena's hand moved until she was caressing his cheek, then ran her fingers through his hair, subconsciously clutching gently when she reached the spot she always felt for. He closed his eyes, happy. Ilena sighed as the pain finally left her. Obi thought she sounded happy, too.

When Ilena came up later that night, the sleeptalking phase was about as short as Obi had expected. She only said, "Obi, thank you for loving my Children." He answered, "Thank you for teaching me, Mother." Then she was gone.

He decided to stay laying next to her this time. At that low a dose, the pain shouldn't cause her to arc enough to damage her, and he could hold her otherwise just as well from here. He waited, listening to her breathe. He was going to miss this, after tonight. He wondered what he should do about that. The other bed was really where he belonged, but it would be a cold place. Well, he would still be able to hear her breathe, at least.

He felt her shudder. Then again. He held her close. "Don't fight it. It will be short tonight," he said quietly in her ear. The child in him still wanted to cry, though. Her breathing deepened as the intensity increased. Then she moaned, a sound that wrung. The deep breaths were frequently punctuated with moans for several minutes, then they faded and she returned to shudders for about another minute. Obi watched her face, looking for the tears.

Her eyes opened and she looked at him, laying beside her. "Oh, is that where you've been sleeping? I wondered. The other bed hadn't looked very used."

He lifted his head a little to look at her curiously. "Ilena, you didn't cry."

She yawned. "No. I don't suppose I would. That was the last gasp of the rain cloud." She snuggled into him. "Now it's just the boring wait. ...That I do wish I could skip."

"Have you really taken it so much you just know these things now?"

"Mm mm." She nodded into his chest. She sighed. "I'll write it up proper when I can sit up again...or maybe I'll make Elliot take dictation some day when I'm bored."

"Well, that would be a good thing." Obi put his head back down. Then he wondered how short the alert phase would be, since everything else had been shortened.

"Obi?"

"Mmm?"

"What are you going to do?"

Obi considered it. She was probably talking about her first comment again. He sighed. "That night...no, that day, after you rejected the first graft, I was like a child who had been frightened and couldn't be reassured. I wanted to hold you, to have you tell me you were okay. I lay on the other bed, making myself sleep as before, listening to your breaths. Mistress came in the middle of the night to bring you the next dose of pain medication. I had been thinking a good scolding by Master would be a great help when he came in to see you. That's when you tried to walk away from us for the second time." Obi shuddered and Ilena reached up a hand and grasped his shirt.

"Mistress ordered me to speak to you, to bring you back as she had the first time. Then Master made me tell him how I'd been able to leave after the initial surgery. He ordered me to do it again, and they left. Instead of being scolded and nailed to my proper place, they had ordered me to be the child I was inside." He was quiet. She was still awake, waiting. Finally he said, "You came back for me, but because you still hadn't spoken to me, I wasn't satisfied. Today, when I knew you were about to wake up for the first time for real, that part of me was very happy, and again this evening, when you woke for me during the withdrawal pain, I was happy again. If you are finally whole again, free from the Little Death. I don't need to stay here after tonight. The other bed will be enough." He closed his eyes, and willed his child's heart to be quiet. He was an adult, and she was not his in this way.

"Thank you for being my warmth and my anchor these nights." Ilena responded.

He wanted to kiss her. He held very still, fighting himself. Perhaps even staying tonight was dangerous.

"Obi, you have chosen to be Father?"

"Yes," he was glad for the distraction of another topic. "I will love your Children, and will care for them when you cannot...and when you can."

"It makes me happy," Ilena said. "And it makes me happy that it makes you happy."

"Mm. It does," he whispered, and his heart hurt, knowing why she had done it. "Ilena."

"Hmm?"

"While you're fighting to stand in the place you desire, please remember that we are fighting with you. Please trust Master when he says he will protect you. ...Do not sacrifice yourself unnecessarily. Remember that it is only by working together with everyone that we can win."

Ilena held very still. "I-I will try, but I am very afraid, Obi."

He squeezed her to him briefly. "I know. We will need to show you, so you can learn to trust that you are not alone anymore. If there is anything you can learn from these last few days, I hope it's that."

She stayed still a moment longer, then nodded her head. "I will consider it."

"Good." This time he did reward her with a kiss on the head.

They lay quietly for a while, then as sleep was reaching for them both, Ilena said quietly, "Next time I wake up, I'll give you the last list."

Obi squeezed her shoulder in response. That would complete her bargain, other than her personal testimony before the Lord's Court. There would be a long six weeks in between.


	27. Next Steps

_Ah...it all starts so innocent and happy...the ride up the hill. Then you look down..._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 27 Next Steps**

Doctor Elliot came to visit Ilena the next morning after Leah and Obi had prepared her for the day. He very carefully inspected the incision and the site. There was no excess heat, redness, or swelling. Letting out a careful breath when he was done, he said he was slightly optimistic that the graft was taking this time.

He questioned her and Obi heavily on her reaction to the previous night's dose of the Little Death. Ilena was quite insistent that she would not need any more, and made him the promise that if he would come to take the dictation, she would tell him everything about her experience with the drug. Of course everyone agreed it should be after she had regained more strength.

"Actually," Doctor Elliot said, rubbing the back of his head, "Regent Zen stopped by this morning to receive the report from last night and talk with me a bit. He's asked me to put together my research into a preliminary report for him to review. He wants to see it published in the end, and he wants me to continue with it. While it isn't surgery, it is research I am most familiar with, so I've agreed."

"I am glad you've found a new patron," Ilena said to him. "I hope he is more acceptable to you than the previous one."

"Well, you were a very good patron to have," Doctor Elliot rejoined. Ilena grinned. "However, I am glad I won't have to experiment with the Little Death on you any more. He's asked me to use it on prisoners to see if the sleep talking phase can be used for interrogation purposes, and if a dose that will allow that affect can be found that has a minimal amount of pain effect. He would also like to know if it's possible to remove from the drug the pain payment phase, and maybe the hibernative state though that is not as necessary, but still maintain the reduction in feeling pain later. That would be useful for things like surgeries and other medical purposes. Mister Ryuu has said he will help me with the latter research. I'll be glad to have his experience."

"It's nice that what we have done before can be used now for purposes for the crown," Ilena said.

Doctor Elliot nodded, then stood. "Master Obi, I would think if there were to be any troubles with the graft, we should see signs today...maybe into tomorrow at the latest, but to not have had any into today I think is a good indicator it has taken."

"I'll send for you if there are any signs." Obi promised.

Doctor Elliot bowed slightly and left the room. Obi looked at Ilena. "Well, it's good to hear more optimistic news, even if it is cautious. Though," he sighed, "I'm not really in a hurry to return to my desk. I am sure it's piled very high."

"Well...only more will pile on it," Ilena said pragmatically.

"True," Obi sighed. "I wonder how Mistress is getting along?"

Ilena said, cautiously, "You could go see… If there's anything you would like to accomplish you could bring it here. I'm afraid you will be very bored here, otherwise."

Obi looked at her, wondering. "Are you trying to be rid of me?"

Ilena shook her head. "I have just been thinking that Obi has been caged for many days now."

"Ah!" Obi was surprised. "I suppose it has been days, hasn't it. I had not felt it. ...Well, I will consider it. Maybe if you nap well again and I feel restless I'll go briefly, but I would be displeased if you should go into rejection while I was gone."

"Well...I suppose it isn't for me to say what my body will or will not do in that regard, but I don't think it will."

"I will consider it." His words were final, and she subsided.

Leah walked in, pushing the breakfast cart in front of her. "Well, now, Mistress Ilena, Master Obi, it's time to eat."

"Me, too?" Ilena asked surprised.

Obi nodded. "You were able to take the tea yesterday. Today we will try 'thin gruel', flavored with...mashed and thinned dates," he looked at it closely, smelled it, then stated what he thought it was.

"Oh!" Ilena's eyes were round. "It's sweet, even."

"Well, you are nothing but bone any more, Mistress," Leah said, a frown on her face. "I'm told you'll be getting three meals today, but if there are no further complications, tomorrow they will be sending five. If you can stand it, we will likely give you an evening after-dinner snack as well." She tucked two pillows up behind Ilena's head to lift it enough she could eat.

"Miss Leah! I'll become fat, lying here without moving, if I eat that many meals a day!" Both Leah and Obi frowned at her. "Well, I'll do it until I've at least recovered my energy. Then I really think it should go back to three meals a day until I'm able to properly move about," she compromised. "Besides, gruel and porridge six times a day for two months will be more unbearable than the three times a day it was before, no matter how many things they try to disguise it with." She made a yuck face.

"Of course, Mistress," Leah said, not committing to anything. She made up three plates of the normal food, that Ilena was trying hard not to drool over the smell of and Obi offered Ilena her first bite.

"Well...it isn't as good as what you're getting to eat, but it is better than what it could be," Ilena said after swallowing it. She ate a few more bites obediently, then looked at Obi. "Isn't this constant nursing of your partner becoming a burden?"

Obi raised his eyebrows at her. "Should it?"

Ilena blushed lightly. "I suppose not," she mumbled.

He paused the spoon above the bowl and looked at her. "Is it so hard to understand, this having a partner?"

She blushed deeper. "I'm sorry."

He looked at her for a moment more, then offered her the spoon. This time, for once, she was embarrassed to be fed by him. He pondered the cause while she ate. He finally said, "I'm sorry if I surprised you last night."

She looked away from him. "Well...after hearing Obi's explanation, it was understandable." She blushed again, then shook her head. Obi wondered what she had been thinking of, but thought if he pressed forward it would likely not go good places. He didn't want her to dislike it, but if it was needful he'd do it again even if she did, so it didn't really matter. He kept quiet while feeding her, and she eventually calmed down.

When she was done, he looked in the bowl. "Well, you've eaten more than half of it. That's good for your first meal." He put the bowl down and picked up a cup of water, holding it for her to drink from to wash down the gruel.

"Would you like to lie back, Mistress Ilena?" Leah asked.

Ilena shook her head. "That was rather a lot. I'd like to sit up a while longer, I think." She rested with her eyes closed until Obi had finished his meal, but her hands were more restless than usual, he noted as he watched her.

"Ilena, has the room become too small?" he asked her as he set his dishes on the cart.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Ehh...perhaps." She considered. "I do feel a little anxious. My mind wants to be up and moving, I suppose. Though now that I've been fed, my body is drowsy again. It's uncomfortable."

He smiled at her. "I suppose it would be. Sleeping again would be best, then, I would think."

She took a deep breath in lieu of sighing. "Well, before that, if you will get paper and pen, I'll give you the list."

He nodded and went to the desk, retrieving the supplies, but staying there to use the hard surface. "I'm ready," he said since she couldn't see him.

Ilena gave him six names, all of them at places he recognized. They were still in their houses, or very near to them. It would indeed be difficult to extract them without their absence being noted. While he pondered on that for a moment, Ilena was quiet. He was about to put the pen down when she spoke again.

"Obi, would you be able to pick up one more? It isn't someone to go to wherever you are keeping everyone else, but if they could be taken to a safe place, a small town some distance from where they are now, maybe?"

"Tell me more," he said simply.

"It's a mother with three children. I've promised to keep them safe for someone who cares about them very much. They are not related, but they do know my name."

He pulled out a separate piece of paper. "Who is it?" Ilena gave him a name and place as with the others. "How will she know she may go with me?" he asked her.

Ilena paused. "Are you still a messenger?"

He looked up. "Yes."

"Show her your medallion. She'll go with you, I think, if she hears my name and knows you have come because of me."

Obi put the pen away and put both pieces of paper in his jacket, which was on but unlatched halfway for the casual but 'living as normal a life as could be lived in this room' atmosphere. He returned to sitting next to her, and took her hand in his, feeling for her heart beat and counting it out again. She was still doing well, and was indeed becoming sleepy. Her eyes were already closed. "Are you ready for the pillows to be moved?"

"Yes," she answered quietly, her breathing slowing. Leah came to the bed and removed the pillows while Obi held her head, then put it back down on the bed. As he moved his hand from behind her head, she turned her cheek into it. He left it there briefly, his eyes soft, then he slowly released her and sat back in his chair, continuing to hold on to her hand. He slowly brushed the back of it with his thumb, until he knew she was asleep.

"Haaah…," he sighed sadly. "It is difficult, isn't it?" He sat and looked at her a little longer, then stood, gently releasing her hand. "Miss Leah. I am going to go out. I'll have Thayne come to sit with her while I'm gone."

"Yes, Master Obi," she said quietly.

Obi walked quietly out the door, making sure it closed quietly behind him as well. He went into the courtyard and whistled. He was a bit surprised when it was Thayne himself that answered a few minutes later. He was leaning against one of the pillars, one foot up on the pillar, so Thayne relaxed and walked up to him. "Things are quiet?" he asked.

Obi nodded. "Have you heard the latest?"

Thayne grinned. "Since the surgeon visited this morning. It sounds good."

"Well, it's better now. Two nights ago, not so much." He looked up into the small square of sky above. "I need to go see Master for a while. Go and sit with her. Watch for the signs you saw before. I'll return quickly."

Thayne nodded, and Obi jumped up to the roof and vanished. Thayne sighed. He was glad his lord was outside again. He just wished he could be free of his burden. He turned, nodded hello to the guards, and went in to sit in his master's place.

-o-o-o-

"Ah!" Shirayuki stopped suddenly on her way to drop another document off at Mitsuhide's desk. Mitsuhide looked up at her, then in the direction she was looking.

"Obi's here, Zen," Kiki said without looking up.

"Mmm…," Zen said, busily writing.

Obi smiled at Shirayuki. She seemed to be having a hard time believing she was seeing the apparition crouched on the banister. She shook her head and put the document on its pile on Mitsuhide's desk.

Mitsuhide smiled a her. "Zen has to have an office with a balcony just for him," he told her. "That's his door - mostly."

"And I have to coax him through it, too - mostly," Zen said as he put down his pen and stretched. He pushed away from his desk and walked to stand leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed. He looked closely at Obi. He looked okay, but he still wasn't ready to come work. That was alright. He could talk from here. He nodded.

Obi reached into his jacket, still not quite done up all the way. He pulled out the two sheets of paper and held them out for Zen. Zen pushed away from the door frame to go take them. Obi wasn't planning on staying long. He looked through them, then looked back at Obi.

"The long one's the last list. The single is a request. Not Family, but she takes care of them. She wants to know if I can move them to a new home in a safer location - not the safe house."

Zen considered, then put the list in his jacket and handed back the single. "Let me know when you're going to go move them. Make sure it doesn't conflict with the plans." Obi nodded and put the paper back in his jacket. "...What did the surgeon say?"

Obi looked back up at him and paused, thinking. "He thinks there's a likelihood it's taken. If it isn't rejected by tomorrow evening he'll relax."

"Do you want to stay 'til then?" Zen asked him. It was a day longer than they had previously agreed.

Obi looked indecisive and Zen could see the sadness on him that Thayne had seen. "Let me see how she is tomorrow morning."

Zen turned and leaned on the banister next to Obi. "What is it?" he asked him.

Obi looked down at his hands, hanging relaxed between his knees. "I'm not sure." He turned his head slightly towards Zen, but didn't quite look at him. "When she woke up last night, she was clear of the Little Death, but I'd stayed where you told me to stay. It surprised her." Obi looked down again and Zen leaned forward and looked around at him, waiting. "I don't know what to do again." Obi finally admitted. "I told her you and Mistress had ordered it. That I'd be in my rightful place again starting tonight, assuming the graft holds."

"Well, that is the safer place to be," Zen said dryly, up righting himself.

The tips of Obi's ears turned red, but he sighed. "I know that, Master."

"You want to stay?" Zen asked him a little surprised.

"That's why I don't know what to do. ...And it feels like she doesn't either. For the first time, today she was embarrassed when I fed her. I apologized for surprising her and she was able to calm down, eventually."

"She didn't like it?"

"No...I think it's that she did, but she still believes...," Obi paused.

Zen lifted an eyebrow. "Well, do you?"

Obi put his hand to his head and gripped his hair, then closed his eyes and dropped down off the banister to stand leaning on it as Zen was. He opened his eyes, crossed his arms and scowled slightly at the floor in front of them. "When I am with her, no. I'm Obi, Father, partner. But when I come out and see the sky," he looked up into it and breathed in and out a breath, "it isn't time yet."

"You're sad for her sake?"

Obi closed his eyes. "She is very alone, Master. Even with us fighting with her, she is alone. I asked her to learn from this experience that she isn't any more. She could only say she would consider it." He looked at Zen. "I don't know what it will take to convince her, how long. Since she was very young she's been alone, with only Miss Leah, and her memories of Wellesley to keep her company." His eyes were very sad.

Zen looked at him compassionately. "I know. I wish to fill that emptiness for her, too. It will take her time, though."

"I wish I had a thing for her, like she had for me in sending me to meet the Family, that would help her to see it." Obi said wistfully.

"Well, I think she'll find it here in this place. She has Obi by her side to show her."

"And me, too." They looked up. Shirayuki was standing in the doorway, her hand curled over her heart, her other fist clenched at her side.

Zen smiled at her. "And the rest of us," he agreed.

Shirayuki walked out to stand before Obi. "When I came to this place, to Clarines, there was only Zen, with Mister Mitsuhide and Miss Kiki by his side to walk with me. And often they were far away. However, I was determined to walk my own path and they supported me. Now I'm with them and they are with me, and there is Obi, too, and now Ilena. I am not alone in Clarines. Ilena is determined to walk her own path, and it's with us, too. She'll come to understand it because she desires to understand it already. If we support her, she'll feel it."

Obi was looking at her with his mouth partially open. He closed it now and smiled at her ruefully. "Mistress always says things well."

"Obi," she hesitated, "if it isn't time yet...to make her yours, then it isn't." He raised an eyebrow at her for even being brave enough to talk about it. "But you also shouldn't leave her alone if you worry she is lonely." She caught sight of his expression and got a bit of a saucy expression on her own face, and he remembered she had already lived five lonely years standing near Zen but never yet quite next to him.

He looked away first and nodded. "I understand, Mistress." He took a breath. "We'll follow in Master and Mistress's footsteps." He leapt back up onto the banister, preparing to go. Zen moved to stand next to Shirayuki and took her two little fingers in his first two fingers. She moved to hold his whole hand with hers, and gave it a little squeeze.

Obi looked back over to them, and seriously said, "But we can't wait as long. There are things we must do for Master and Mistress that can only be done with us being together properly."

Zen nodded. "I'm working for that, Obi." He looked Obi in the eye, promising him.

Obi blinked at him, then turned and leapt away, leaving them standing together on the balcony. Shirayuki sighed. "I'm glad we don't have to wait much longer, either."

Zen turned to her, smiling, and gave her a kiss. "Me, too." He put his arm around her and they walked back through the french doors together.

"You forgot to give Obi his work," chided Kiki when Zen and Shirayuki reentered the Rose office.

Zen looked at Shirayuki. "I think it might be a good idea if you trade back with Obi tomorrow. I think I'll be able to tempt him into working, given what came today."

Shirayuki looked at him. "It'll be good for him to remember there are others here who care, too."

Zen nodded. "I think so."

"Okay," Shirayuki said, and returned to her chosen office chores. They were slight, compared to the many things to be done, but she was learning many things, and the others reassured her that even what she could do was helpful to them.

As she worked, she always kept her eyes open for the thing that she could do, like what Ilena had suggested she do. Not that she expected to find it here right away. She'd discovered that currently most of the documents coming through this office were related to Earl College's activities. She'd seen some of the other documents that were shunted across the hall to the Rosebud office, and they looked interesting, too, but she hadn't had any ideas from them yet either.

As she was walking back to the Rose office from delivering some of those very documents, she was waylaid by a minor lord. "Miss Shirayuki, I was wondering if I could have a bit of your time?"

She sighed internally. This was the third for the day. "Well, the office is quite busy right now, Lord…?"

"Ah, Prosley, Lord Prosley, Miss Shirayuki. I won't take much of your time, really. I was just wondering if you might bring up with the Regent the matter of the drought in the central sections of Relant."

"Well, Lord Prosley, what have you done so far, about the drought in the central sections of Relant?" She looked as if she might actually like to hear it.

"Ah, well, we've been bringing in water from the surrounding areas, but that is getting to be a more expensive process than we had anticipated. I was hoping the Regent might be willing to provide some additional funds for the benefit of the people in Relant." He gave her a hopeful look.

It was always a request for the Regent to approve more funds for some project or other. "Are the people paying for the water themselves, Lord Prosley?"

"Well, they are paying for some, but I've been using the land coffers as well."

"Hmmm…, and is it the wells that have gone dry? Or the rivers and streams?"

"Ah, the wells in the main. There are some streams, but not many."

"How long have those wells been in use for?"

"Since my great-grandfather's time, but they have never gone dry until now."

Shirayuki felt like she might consider strangling him. "How much rain have you been getting?"

"Well, less than normal these past three years, but some. The crops have been thin enough we haven't been able to meet our quota to the castle, but we have had just enough for the people, thank goodness."

Shirayuki held on to her temper. "Lord Prosley, have you tried drilling new wells, say on the other side of hills or streams, or on the far side of the towns?"

"Why should we do that when we have perfectly good wells already?"

"Because, Lord Prosley, that has been a very long time. Even with rain, most wells only last two generations to maybe a third before they become dry. The larger the population, the faster they become emptied. Did the city wells dry up before the others?"

"Why, yes they did, actually."

"Then, Lord Prosely, I suggest you have the people turn their energies to finding new locations to put new wells. That would be time and money much better spent than continuing to import water."

"Ah, I see... Well, perhaps I will consider that."

"If you will excuse me, I need to return to work."

"Ah! Please let Sir Mitsuhide know I will not need to speak with the Regent after all, if you could."

"Certainly." Shirayuki sighed inside. They all ended like this, too. She reentered the Rose office. "Mitsuhide, please remove Lord Prosley of Relant and the drought of the three-generations old wells from Zen's schedule."

"Certainly," Mitsuhide said, absently reaching for his schedule to make a mark. Then he looked at it again. "Ah, Zen, she's cleared your meeting schedule, again, for the second day in a row."

"Why are they coming early?" asked Shirayuki. "Why don't they just wait until their meeting time? And yesterday I couldn't help Count Blakely. Zen had to listen to him."

"It seems to be something about if they are standing around and they can grab anyone to hear their plight, they might get special consideration," Kiki answered her.

"You could have helped Count Blakely if you'd understood a little more," Zen said, his fingers interlaced before him. "You understood it well enough once he had both clarified his position, and I added the information I had."

"Well, I suppose."

Zen looked at Mitsuhide, then Kiki. Mitsuhide smiled at him. Kiki nodded.

"Shirayuki, would you be willing to help me with such things in the future? If we get to you the list of petitioners and the pertinent information relating to their cases? You've been handling them quite admirably." Zen had a hint of a twinkle in his eye.

"If it becomes a matter you can't handle, you can still say you'll bring the matter to Zen's attention," Mitsuhide reassured her. "There are always a few even he must research after he's spoken to them."

"It also puts your face before them," Kiki said, looking at her pointedly.

"We could give her the Lotus office," Mitsuhide said introspectively. "I could continue to handle the scheduling until Miss Ilena has recovered. In the end, she would likely be the better source of information for the cases anyway."

Zen looked at Dane. "Dane?"

Dane looked up from his work. "I haven't heard anything she doesn't know about yet. And a few things you missed, so that's probably about right."

Zen looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Should I ask you to do it for her until then?"

"Ah, no." Dane looked a little horrified. "I think Mi..Kiki has me plenty busy enough at this time."

"You can't have him, Zen. Not for that, if you want an Earl sitting in her place." She didn't blink.

"Well, then we'll have to keep using the Rosebud office for that, then. What do you think, Shirayuki?"

"Ah...well, I have been looking for something I could do. If you think I could do that..., but I think I should ask Ilena first. I don't know what she has planned for me and what the schedule will need to be."

"Well, all the more reason to trade with Obi tomorrow, then," Zen said. "The Lotus office is right next door, so if you would need us, you could come, or send word. Also, you would still be close by for lunches." He smiled at her.

"Actually," Tairn put his chin in his hand thoughtfully, "having the Director of Intelligence also be the secretary for the Princess who you give that power to will greatly decrease the fraudulent requests. It has its benefits. And starting it now means she'll have a very good grasp of the workings of the kingdom early."

"And a good feel for each of the lords as well," Dane added. "I think Mistress Ilena will be pleased, really."

Shirayuki flushed. "Well, I'll speak with Ilena tomorrow, then."

"Excellent," said Zen. "Let Mitsuhide know when you plan to start and he'll get the information and schedule to you. In the meantime, we'll get the Lotus office open for you."

Shirayuki nodded, feeling overwhelmed but proud at the same time.

-o-o-o-

Obi was pleased to return to a room nearly as quiet as he had left it. He was also pleased to not be bringing work back with him. He had to admit, though, after having even a short break, he didn't really want to lock himself up for very much longer. Just because Ilena had to be didn't really mean he did if she was feeling better.

Thayne had vacated his chair from earlier when Obi walked in, but Obi waved him back into it and sat on the bed on the other side from him, being careful not to jostle Ilena overly much. He gently touched the side of her neck, finding the heartbeat, and counted while he watched her breathe. She was sleeping and everything seemed to be within the acceptable ranges.

He looked up and saw Thayne was watching him. He smiled at him. "It's become habit, eh?"

Thayne slowly smiled back. "It does appear that way. Are you going to greet her that way when she's finally up and walking?"

"Not likely."

"You could always disguise it as a hello kiss, you think?"

"Hmmm…," Obi pictured it. "That could actually work. I wonder how long it would take her to catch on?"

"Probably only once," Thayne shook his head at him.

"I don't know... She seems to miss things for a while when it's me."

"Really?!" Thayne's eyes showed his surprise. "Not much gets past her."

Obi looked at Ilena's sleeping face. "No, that's what even I would think. But since she stopped being constantly on guard, it's become interesting."

"Hmmm...," Thayne wasn't sure.

"Master Obi, it's when you think such things that you need to be worried," Leah said from her corner.

Obi looked at her, "Oh?"

Leah looked up at him from her work. "If she's letting you take something now, be assured she'll demand payment later."

"You think she knows?" He hadn't thought she'd noticed at all.

"There is very little that she's not aware of. You do know what world she has lived in up until now."

He thought about that. "True enough." To survive in the world of predators and prey, one never let their guard down or looked the other way without a good cause. "Do you think she lets me tease her because she knows she's so difficult, then?"

Both Leah and Thayne looked at him in surprise. "It's actually possible," Leah said slowly.

Obi snorted. "Ah, you are both so serious. She is difficult because she is Ilena, and I tease because I am Obi. Miss Leah frowns at Obi's antics because she is Miss Leah, and Thayne teases Obi because he is Thayne. There doesn't have to be meaning and calculation behind everything just because one is very good at doing it."

Thayne grinned. "Well, I for one like your simplemind...I mean simpleness."

Obi mock frowned at him. "I think we need to test your strength. It surely must be greater than your intellect."

Thayne continued to grin, but sat back in his chair. "Are you feeling better, then?"

"When was I an invalid?" Obi asked him, deliberately misunderstanding. Then his expression abruptly changed to one of wistfulness, "Though, really, now that I've said it, it would be enjoyable."

"I'd be happy to spar with you any time," Thayne said, his eyes lit up with anticipation already.

"Well, not today," Obi said, "but there should be an opportunity sometime in the near future. Did you become comfortable with the castle while you were on vacation?" He unconsciously began playing with Ilena's hair that had been lying on the bed near his hand.

"I did," Thayne answered. "They wanted to toss me out for saying I'd gotten lost at the Queen Mother's quarters, but other than that, it was a pretty quiet walk."

Obi nodded. "She keeps to herself, her staff with her."

"She's well protected," Thayne said. "Her head of intelligence - ah, Ilena calls them her 'Uncles' - is a serious man who has little room for play. She's told us all to not step on his toes. I hope I didn't do that when I was exploring over there."

"I understand he was somewhat pleased someone from the Family had the capacity to even try," Leah answered. "If you have need, he'll hear you."

"Oh? That's surprising," Thayne said. "Well, I'll remember it then."

Obi looked at Leah with some speculation. "So, you really are in that position to Ilena, then. I thought it was Grandfather."

Leah tipped her head at him. "Consider it more carefully, Master Obi."

It didn't take him much time. "Ah, yes. You are inside, he is outside." He nodded to himself. "Why are the two of you alternating days? You and Rio?"

"While Mistress Ilena is unable to act for herself, we will. Until she becomes, as you say, difficult, it's not necessary for us both to be here. And when you and Thayne are also here, it's even less needful."

"Is it even necessary for Ilena to be here?" Obi was just curious.

"It's only necessary for _her_ to be here. The rest of us are extra." Leah said. "You've asked that because you haven't seen it yet."

Thayne nodded. "She's very formidable. The rest of us must run very hard to still be able to see her in the distance."

Obi raised his eyebrow. He thought about that. If she was constantly running ahead, watching over her would be very much like watching over his Mistress. Then he thought about the two of them together. "Ah, then I think, Thayne, that I will need you to stay very close to her, especially when she and Mistress are together. Mistress is very much that way as well. They are bound to get into great trouble together." He looked over to Leah. "Miss Leah and Miss Rio, too, will need to be careful that they do not become two coins rolling off the cliff together."

Leah smiled. "Rio told me about that. It's an apt description."

"Yes, I liked it too." Obi looked satisfied with himself. "It was nice Rio could finally relax yesterday. Ah, and I've given her Tuesday night off."

"So she said," Leah said coolly.

"I shouldn't have?" Obi asked.

Leah paused. "...No, it's okay. It was merely surprising."

Obi tilted his head. "The castle is not a prison, Miss Leah. Even you may have a day off if you have need of it. Only Ilena can't, and that's more because she's not allowed to move because of her hip."

Leah looked at him surprised. "Ah, thank you."

"Is there a time you would like to go?"

Leah shook her head. "I'll let you know if I should need to." Obi shrugged.

"Does that mean I get days off, too?" Thayne asked.

"Didn't you just?" Obi asked.

"Ah, that's mean. You said to stay where you could call me."

"Yes, that's the way it is," Obi nodded in sad commiseration. "When one is assigned to follow such a one, the leash is rather short. Only orders lengthen it slightly for a short time."

Thayne looked at him. "But you don't regret it."

Obi's eyes sparkled. "It's fun to watch them."

Thayne slowly grinned again. "Well, yes, I understand that."

"But even still, if Obi needs to run, Master will have compassion on occasion. If you find yourself in that place, you must let me know. It's not good to choke a good man to death just because he must have a short leash."

"Thank you, Master Obi," Thayne said gratefully. "I'll be sure to let you know."

"Good," Obi said. He looked down in some surprise. His fingers had become quite entangled in Ilena's hair. There was quiet in the room for a while as he worked to free them without waking her up.

Obi bent down to untangle a particularly difficult knot from around one finger, amazed at how entangled he'd become, when he suddenly heard an angry sound from very nearby.

"Obi!" He froze. "If you are going to wake me up, at least pay attention while you are doing it!"

He sat up suddenly, wide eyed. "Ah, I didn't mean to wake you up."

Ilena narrowed her eyes at him. "Then that is worse, Obi. Do you not understand that the scalp is very sensitive? Every stroke, twist, and pull, Obi. _Every one_ has pulled me awake, and it feels like you are only making it worse. Nana, come free me of his nimble thoughtless fingers."

Obi was panicking, and also looked to Leah for help. She hurried over and began gently disentangling the pair.

Ilena looked over to Thayne. "Take your Master out and exercise him. Get in a few good thumps for me, if you can. I already owe him several and he has just earned a few more."

Obi waved his free hand, his mouth unable to protest. His hand was suddenly freed and it bounced up. He flexed the fingers in more mild surprise.

Ilena narrowed her eyes at him again. "Obi. Get. Out."

"Yes, ma'am," he finally said. Thayne walked out behind him, putting his hand on Obi's shoulder in sympathy.

Ilena sighed in frustration as the door closed behind the men. "He didn't mean any harm, Mistress," Leah remonstrated.

"He's smothering me, Nana! Every time I've woken up, it's he who's been here. Where is Mistress even? And surely Master Zen has need of him elsewhere. It's not necessary for him...,"

"Ilena!" Ilena stopped. It wasn't often Leah used her given name alone. "It _was_ necessary. You may be grumpy for being thoughtlessly woken, but Obi has been trying very hard. You nearly died twice because of the experimental surgery. He has been very lost, and the rest of us have not been much better. We have all been able to sleep these last three nights because he was with you, and we have been supporting him in return as best we could. Do not say things you do not understand! I have told you that often enough!"

Ilena had stared at Leah through the whole lecture with wide eyes. "Ah...ah...I'm sorry, Leah. I'm sorry I frightened you. I didn't mean it."

"Then don't do it again!" Leah's voice was still angry, but it held tones of fear as well.

"Okay. I won't," Ilena said, frantic to comfort Leah. She held out her hand to her long-time guardian and surrogate mother. After a moment of trying to decide just how angry she was, Leah's need for comfort won out. It had been a long hard three days for her. She threw herself onto Ilena and held her, her tears of fear finally falling forth. Ilena held her in return. "I'm sorry, Nana," Ilena said again. "I won't let Elliot experiment on me any more. But for this time...I really need to be able to walk on my own again. You know that. But if it doesn't work this time, I'll give it up."

Leah sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I want to hold you to that, Mistress, but I know it's important."

"No! Really! I will! I'll find a different way." But now tears were falling from Ilena's eyes. Tears of anger and frustration. "I must, Leah! My enemy laughs in my ears continually, telling me that he has made it so. That he himself has rendered me impotent to fulfill my own plans." She ground her teeth. "In my nightmares I am bound chained to a throne while all of Tarc withers and the people groan and the horses writhe upon the ground - and he laughs. I look towards Selicia and it is flooded halfway up the mountains and the people struggle to remain above the water, then one by one slowly give up and sink beneath the waves and the desert people stand afar off and look in amazement - and he laughs."

"And, desperate to not see it, I turn to see Clarines and the people are bound in chains, being carried off to hell, while all of the land burns - and he laughs. Then he unchains me and says he will give me a gift." Her tears came in earnest. "He brings before me the people I love and thrusts a sword deep into their bellies. I rise to protect them, and my leg gives way so that I collapse on the ground, and I'm unable to move, and the hatred in their eyes stabs at me until I can no longer breathe. And at my own tears, he laughs again, then leans down and whispers in my ears, 'Did I not tell you that it would be so much better for you to become strong before I met you again? See what I can do? What I have done to you from even this distance? I shall take more than your leg, Ilena. See? I will take it all.' ...I want to see him dead before me so badly, Leah. Dead before he can bring his plans to fruition, his laughter dead upon his lips and no longer in my ears."

She bit her lip, her face a mask of misery. "I must find a way, Leah, but I can't think of one. All I can think of is how my plans have been warped if I can't do what it is I need to do. I want to just tell it all to Zen and Izana in the hopes that they may at least protect Clarines, then run so far away across the sea that he can't reach me to use me for his purposes. All I can see is that if by my being here, it means he can prevent anything from acting against him, then it's me that I must remove."

"But he has already made even that move impossible." Now her voice was bitter. "Already I'm bound to the very people he will destroy, the people I had hoped to use against him. They are as effective as the chains that bind me in my dream, for they will not release me to escape from his reach. In one move, he has blocked all of my plans. If I can't ride again, then he will have already won."

She paused, then turned her head away, closing her eyes. "What use does Obi have with a flightless partner who can be nothing but a burden to him? You were all cruel to have made him to be the one to keep me alive when it was the only way he might have been set free."

Leah collapsed onto the chair next to the bed, her hands over her mouth, not knowing what to say to comfort her mistress. Outside the door, his forehead resting on it, Obi's hand clenched, dark emotions rolling in him. Then in one swift motion he was running, leaping, and up on the roof. Thayne watched him go sadly, very confused and hurting himself. He returned to listening, watching over his Mistress for his Master's sake. It was the only thing he could do.


	28. Intensive Training for Ilena

_Please, no flames from this chapter and the related ones in the future. I've been hinting all along it was coming, and I've tried to explain it within the chapter, as well. This is an important lesson for Ilena, and even she agrees. The Princess has to learn to be something a little less in rank. That doesn't diminish her. It gives her a new strength. Bear with it and you, too, will see those results to come._

 _For those of you who quit reading because you didn't like Ilena being a princess...this chapter's for you...if you come back... *sigh*._

 _Also - for those of you who love Yuki-Zen, please, they have vignettes in this story, but this is ***Obi's*** story. We will see more of them in the next book while they are working hard to put Shirayuki next to Zen, but it isn't their story. _

_Thank you to those of you who have read this far and are enjoying. Please look forward to more to come. The climax is coming very soon...only a few more short weeks until this 'book' is complete. *sigh* - I will miss it, but what comes after delights me just as much... Many thanks to_ _ **JadeKazanari** for your many helpful reviews and **MiraCutesy** for your kind words. Both of you keep me going on the depressing days. Thank you._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 28 Intensive Training for Ilena**

Obi exercised himself. It was the only way he could get rid of the excess emotions that wanted to explode out of him. He ran until he found a hapless post and swung his sword at it viciously so he could vent on an opponent. Then sheathing his shortsword again, he shadowboxed, allowing the flowing movements to slowly calm his mind into coherence again. When he was finally physically tired, he ran again until he found himself by 'his' tree. He was up it in an instant, the pathway already memorized by his hands and feet. He leaned on the truck, as he had leaned on Ilena's door, facing it with his head resting on it, his hands resting on the trunk. Hot tears stung his eyes, and his hands clenched again. He turned and dropped to sit on the branch, his arms around his knees, his head resting on them. For a while he just breathed.

-o-o-o-

"Zen," Kiki said quietly. He looked up. "He's in the tree again. It doesn't look good."

Zen quickly looked around. Across the courtyard outside his balcony, the place where Obi sat in the tree was almost directly level with the balcony. Kiki was right. It didn't look good at all. "I'll go." Zen walked out to the balcony, climbed on the banister and leapt to the ground. He didn't do it so much here, except when Obi was in the tree, but he used to do it all the time at Wistal to escape from the walls of the castle there, so it was no trouble for him.

Kiki and Mitsuhide walked onto the balcony and watched from there in case they were needed. They were used to following Zen on the crazy paths he walked, and they were by now used to Obi. Shirayuki followed them out, her hand going to her mouth this time when she saw Obi huddled in the tree, Zen walking up underneath him.

"Obi," Zen called to him. There was no reaction. Zen leaned his back against the tree, in an imitation of what Mitsuhide would do to him when he himself went to the trees for comfort.

After a while, Obi said, a bit coldly, "I didn't call for you, Master."

Zen thought about that, looking up at him again. He hadn't moved. "Is it something you think you should be able to solve on your own?"

"...Yes."

"Hmm…," Zen crossed his arms and put a foot up behind him on the trunk of the tree. Then he looked up at Mitsuhide and Kiki on the banister. They recognized their cue and lept over the banister, leaving Shirayuki to watch from a distance. Having experience with Obi, they were careful to not hold any emotion and to just casually and quietly walk close to the tree on paths that would prevent his escape. They stopped at a distance they could hear, but not too close, and rested in a balanced awareness.

When they were ready, Zen said to Obi, in a cross between casual and ordering, "Tell me anyway." He was looking up at Obi again and saw him shudder. That was a promising sign.

He waited. It was like looking at a cornered wild stallion who wanted to fight, but had been worn down enough that he knew he was going to have to submit, it was just a matter of time. Zen could wait. He'd known Obi was like this a long time. Obi had given his reins to him over five years ago, had been his stallion and no one else's. Still he held most of the wildness in him that made even Zen have to approach him again and again as if he was newly brought to the stable. That was what Mitsuhide and Kiki were for. To remind Obi he was under restraints, too. Zen had learned that Obi actually found it somehow easier to be obedient when they were there. Not a reluctant obedience, either, but rather it eased the burden of being obedient. That was why it had been so difficult for them all the time he had run from Ilena and Shirayuki in Osterly. It was like Ilena made him even wilder, made him forget he was now a horse of the stall. It didn't look like it would be a repeat of that this time, though, thank goodness.

But then, she was come to them just as wild as Obi had. How could he not feel that pull again, be confused by it? He was to help her become tame, but her wildness would also affect him. Zen suspected it was this conflict Obi was struggling with. It was true that Obi had the responsibility to calm her, but he wouldn't be able to do it if he wasn't calm and settled himself - and that was Zen's job.

Obi shuddered again, then actually groaned. All three on the ground were surprised. Then he was on the ground in front of Zen, one knee and a fist on the ground, his head bowed before him. They could tell it was taking all of his formidable self control to prevent himself from doing anything other than hold himself completely rock hard still. From her angle, Kiki could see his jaw clench several times and she wondered if he was trying to prevent himself from crying or if he was angry. She glanced at Zen, worried.

He caught her look and nodded faintly. He stood up straight and looked at Obi, his own stance becoming a relaxed readiness. "I will hear it now," he said quietly and firmly.

Obi's formal reporting voice flowed from him as if he were not present, just the words were. He retold what had happened from the time his fingers had become tangled in Ilena's hair until he had left Thayne outside the door. Ilena's anger at him and sending him away. Leah's scolding of Ilena. All of Ilena's words to Leah about her dream and her despair. When his voice clipped off after her last words about him, Mitsuhide and Kiki both flared in worried surprise briefly.

Zen looked at Obi's back. That was good. He'd shown his master the burden and was waiting on him. Zen considered. Obi was right, it was his to answer as he saw appropriate. Zen had given that to him. What could Zen take, or give, that would help Obi to do what he needed to do?

"She does indeed see her opponent as very formidable," Zen said. Obi nodded once. "But we already know about him. When I'm ready, I'll hear her plan against him. He's not in a hurry, his plans have already been many years in the unfolding. In my time, I'll decide what I'll do about it." Obi barely shivered, but it was a releasing of a burden, leaving it to Zen. He seemed to breathe a little easier. That was good.

"I've said it to you already: I will see that her rough plans are made smooth, and the way possible. My board is not set yet." Obi took a deeper breath and nodded.

Zen narrowed his eyes. He had taken his part. The rest would be up to Obi. "She is yours, Obi. It is up to you to teach her what that means."

Obi resisted, his back tightening. "She is Master's."

Zen sighed within himself. Obi still did not believe him from that night before, was still struggling with his position. "Obi is mine. Until you have trained her, she will not be mine. She is yours only, until then." Obi's back caved to the burden, but he wasn't happy.

"Yes, Master," he answered quietly, his voice much more as it should be, but that didn't mean the others relaxed. Obi stood. His face was set into controlled neutrality that gave it a coolness it did not often have. He bowed to Zen, and Kiki moved closer to Mitsuhide to give Obi space to leave the courtyard. He turned away from them and left the courtyard, his shoulders carrying a burden he wasn't carrying smoothly yet.

Zen sighed, relaxing finally. Kiki looked at Mitsuhide, then Zen. Mitsuhide shifted into a more relaxed posture. "Haah. He's still having difficulty with it, isn't he?" he said.

"She isn't an easy partner to have," agreed Zen. "I expect it will take quite some time, actually."

"Perhaps he needs to give her what she understands, first," Kiki said.

The men looked at her. "I wonder if he will see that himself," Zen answered, and walked towards the stairs that would take him back up to his office. He could jump up to the balcony, but he wanted the excuse of a little more time to calm down and think himself.

-o-o-o-

Obi went back towards the medical wing on the ground, thinking very hard about how to teach Ilena as he went. He stopped at the pharmacy first. "Ryuu?" He looked around.

"Back here!" the young man called from his office.

Obi leaned against the office door frame and pasted on his public smile. "Would you have a bit of time to make that tea for Ilena again? I've made her angry and I need a peace offering."

Ryuu looked up surprised. "Ah, yes." He got up. "I've also been researching medicinal aids for her emotional changes. I think I should have a tea you could give her by tomorrow."

"Oh? Ryuu has been busy. It would be very nice if that would work, but we should probably keep its purpose a secret from her, neh?" He winked at Ryuu.

Ryuu grimaced. "Yeah, probably. I'll bring it by to try it, but you should let her maids know they can come order it any time they need it."

"You could just give them enough of the mixture they could make it up anytime they wanted." Obi looked through a pile of bagged leaves on Obi's desk, careful not to rearrange their order.

"Well, no, it should only be given once per day, or less. I could tell them to experiment with which time of day is best." He had his head buried, looking for a component of the tea he was making for Obi.

"I'll be right back," Obi said to him and disappeared into another room in the pharmacy. He was a common fixture in the pharmacy, so no one paid him any mind. He was back just before Ryuu had the tea ready for him. He thanked Ryuu, then left the pharmacy with the tea, stopping briefly in the empty front area to add something to it, then continued on.

When he reached Thayne and the door guards, he ordered, "When I send Miss Leah out, don't let her back in until I have said it. You are not to enter either." They nodded. He knocked once and entered the room.

Leah was back in her corner, and Ilena was resting in her bed. Obi walked up to the bed, his eyes unreadable. "Ilena, I'm sorry I made you angry. I've brought you some tea, will you drink it?" She turned her head and looked at him solemnly in the eyes. He looked at her without emotion.

"I'm sorry to have been unnecessarily angry with you, Obi," she said. "I will drink it."

He sat in the chair and lifted her head to help her drink it. He had the cup just pressed to her lips, about to pour it, when he stopped and took it away. She looked up at him in surprise. "Perhaps I should taste it first to make sure it isn't too hot still." He lifted the cup to his own lips.

"No!" she reached for it. "You musn't!"

He paused. "Why not?" he looked at her coolly.

"It...it's been poisoned," she was almost afraid to admit it. Leah looked up in alarm.

"Ilena, why would you willingly drink it then?" he asked her.

Her eyes were very round. "Because I have immunity," she said almost breathlessly.

"Ilena, that is not right. I have told you already to be aware of yourself. You are not to put yourself in danger. I will not tolerate it again." She lowered her eyes and apologized. "...And why would you prevent me from drinking it?"

"Because it is safer to assume you do not."

Obi leaned back in the chair. "Ilena, what would you do if you saw my unprotected back and could not move?"

"Ah, I would call out to you, or send someone to defend you." Her eyes were still round and she seemed confused.

Obi stood and carefully poured the poisoned drink into the vase, then turned the cup upside down on its saucer. "Miss Leah, please see that this is properly disposed of and clean them very well." He handed her the vase and the cup and saucer. She took them, bowed, and left the room.

When Leah was gone, Obi walked over to Ilena and stood over her. "It has never been necessary up until now for you to protect me upon your own two feet, with your presence, yet you have done so anyway, very capably, from a distance and without my knowing. Why is it you believe that being in the place where I am changes that?"

She stared at him, no answer forthcoming.

Carefully placing his words together, Obi continued, "Master has explained to me that you have worked very hard to become what you believe my perfect partner would be, but you have not been here to learn it yet." He looked at her again. "I do not know what you believe you now lack because you have been injured, but I do not see anything lacking before me save one thing, ...and that one thing I have promised Master _I_ will teach you. It is not acceptable to me that you attempt to learn it on your own." Ilena blinked. "It is your duty to merely learn it from me." Obi told her with finality.

She nodded. She understood what he was saying, but she couldn't understand what the thing was he was talking about. Her confusion showed, but he understood what it was about.

"I wish you to understand another thing," he continued, and his eyes became hard. "I am a very selfish partner. I did not watch over you because I was ordered to. I watched over you because Master knew I would defy him if he did not allow it. I have made you to stay alive because _I_ wished for you to stay alive. Because I wish for you to be my partner, you shall not run from it." Ilena shivered in fear of his anger, but something was born in her heart, and tears began to form in her eyes.

"You chose to live so you could answer Master's questions. In his own time, he will hear you and make the way smooth and will defeat his enemy and yours. It is your responsibility to allow him to do that." Ilena's hands, resting upon her chest, clenched, then she forcibly relaxed and nodded slightly.

Obi hesitated. There was one more thing that needed doing, but it would likely complicate matters for a time. One more restraint needed to be laid. He looked at her closely. No, it would need to be done, or she wouldn't understand. Firmly pushing aside his own doubts and fears, he bent over her with one knee on the bed and put his hands on either side of her head. Then putting his lips to hers, he gave her the passionate kiss he had threatened her with earlier. He held it just until he felt her body respond. Then he let it go and lifted himself enough to look into her eyes. She looked as miserable and lost as he had felt when she was slipping away towards death.

"You are mine because you have already given yourself to me," he said, stating the fact her body had not been able to deny, "but until you have learned what it is I will teach you, I cannot accept you." He stood back up and looked at her, his eyes deep.

Ilena's face slowly crumpled and the tears began to fall. Her hand clenched at her heart. "Is-is that...a promise, Obi?" It looked like it hurt to breathe.

His face soft, he put his hand on her head, then ran it down to her cheek to wipe the tears from her eye. "Yes," he said gently. He sat beside her on the bed, not touching her, while she held her hands over her face and sobbed.

For the remainder of that day and all of the next, Obi let no one into the room, and he did not leave it. Zen was not surprised when Shirayuki arrived at the office instead of Obi. When she told him Obi had gone into seclusion with Ilena, he nodded and said that Obi would come when it was time.

-o-o-o-

The third day, Obi appeared briefly in the Rose office in the afternoon to read his reports from Falcon's Hollow and write the summaries for Zen. He would not speak unless directly asked a question that related to the work, and he refused Shirayuki's request to speak with Ilena, saying when she was ready, he would let her know.

Before he left, but a few hours after he had come, Zen put down his pen and asked Obi if he'd allowed Doctor Elliot to check on Ilena. "It isn't necessary. She's recovering. This morning the tendon showed signs of proper grafting. He will see her when she is ready." Obi said briefly, then was gone.

"It's been two days, Zen," Shirayuki said, worried.

Zen looked at her. "That's not very long for her," Zen said. "He's teaching her to become tame to him, and proper restraint. I would not be surprised if it should take longer than a week, though I can't give him longer than that at this time."

"But, I don't understand," Shirayuki said.

"Shirayuki," Mitsuhide said, and she turned to him. "It's because she can't leave the room. The reason Obi sits in the tree outside Zen's balcony is because when Zen taught Obi to be obedient to him, and how he was to behave in the castle, he was allowed to be in his quarters at night, and during the day he was to be in the office or in the courtyard outside - somewhere he could hear Zen's voice and be obedient to it."

"When Mitsuhide was teaching me restraint," Zen added, "he followed me everywhere until I learned to want to not be away from him, and over time I was able to settle for fewer trips away and for less distance."

"But it wasn't until Shirayuki was here that you chose to be serious about staying where you should," Kiki added.

Mitsuhide nodded. "You have never needed such training Shirayuki. Of yourself, you already see your goals and yet also have great personal restraint. Except when you get confused. Then you need help," he grinned at her.

"If Ilena were not injured, but could walk, it's likely she would be here with us in the office," Zen took up the explanation. "She would already be helping you as your secretary, but she would not be allowed to be anywhere that she did not have the eyes of one of us on her, until we were sure she knew how to exercise the proper restraint in the castle. Even with Obi sitting with her this week, she will still need that guidance when she can finally move about."

"Up until now, she has only been the power in her own house. While learning to exercise power responsibly has been good for her, she has only had the restraint of her fear of one man, and even that was not much of a restraint because she was constantly working against him. The restraint required for the castle is very different. When Obi left the tree last, Kiki said that he needed to give her something she understood first. That is what he is doing. He is giving her one man, himself, to look to. When she can look to him for proper restraint in all things, he will be able to broaden her capacity, and help her to become stronger for her duties here."

"When I send Obi to collect the last set of witnesses and we go to confront Earl College, it will be you who will need to sit in his place and help her to understand that the restraint she is learning for Obi must also apply to you, and by extension to each of us, so that when she is finally able to come to us, she will already be sufficiently obedient that we can help her learn the full requirements to being in the castle. In this thing, you must overcome your own tendency to be overly obedient to all others. Her way of being makes you want to relate to her the way you relate to my brother, the King. You cannot allow it. She must come to you and respond to you as if you were me or Obi. Therefore you must expect obedience from her. You have done well so far, but we'll be gone for many weeks. You must have the strength to maintain it until we return. Her ladies, Leah and Rio, and Grandfather also, already know how to contain her, and you may turn to them for assistance, but you yourself must show her your strength always, as you have done for Obi. However, Obi does not resist you. Ilena will continuously test you."

"I would like you to think on these things before Obi allows you to be with her again, so that you might know what face you will show her." Zen stopped and looked at Shirayuki. She was looking a bit overwhelmed. This was a request that would usually end up putting her into a panic, of the sort Mitsuhide had told her she usually need help with. But at the same time, she already had practice with this sort of thing with Prince Raji of Tanbarun, and somewhat with Obi and Zen themselves.

"If you like," Kiki said, apparently thinking along the same lines, "you may consider it as if Prince Raji had come to visit and his aide had asked you to give him some intensive training while they were here."

"Ah, she's as bad as that?" Shirayuki was doubtless thinking of her first experience with that prince who had demanded she show up in his castle just for him to put her on display next to him because of her hair. She had run away from Tanbarun, leaving only a length of her hair behind, saying that if he desired her for her hair, he could have that only. That was how Zen had met her just inside the Clarines border from Tanbarun and she had come to be with them. Prince Raji was now much better after she had visited with him several times, but most especially after the time Zen had come to him and together they had rescued her from her double kidnapping.

"Well, it is different, but yes," the other three all agreed.

"Ahhh...," Shirayuki sighed. "Well, then, yes, I'll consider it properly. Though so far she has shown proper restraint with me."

"That's because she was training you to understand her. When I remove Obi from the castle, there will no longer be the restraint upon her there was. You must carefully determine if what she is doing is training you properly, or testing the boundaries of proper restraint. You do remember what she was like the times Obi wasn't with us, don't you?" Zen raised his eyebrow in question.

"Ah...yes." Shirayuki did. While she had done good things, it had been truly without restraint. "I will help her to understand."

"Good," Zen smiled at her. "I will leave it to you, then, when we are gone."

-o-o-o-

On the fourth day, Obi let Doctor Elliot in to inspect Ilena. He pronounced the graft a tentative success and stitched the incision closed so that it would begin to heal properly. Obi would not allow him to stay and visit, however, making it a business trip only. When asked to report on the visit, Doctor Elliot said she had been quiet, only answering his questions about the graft and her health in general, but she had been alert.

On the evening of the fifth day, Obi appeared at the balcony of the office just before the dinner hour. As he walked into the room on his own, he looked at Zen and said, "Leah is feeding her dinner tonight. We'll see how she does."

"That's good," Zen looked back at him, "because your time is getting short. I need you to be ready to go soon."

"Hehh. Well, it might be enough for now. When?"

"I'd like to send the order for the first clandestine wave to move out tomorrow. That puts your time to move out in two days. If necessary I can wait another day, if Grandfather can get them all collected as fast as the last set."

"Two days…. And how long will we be gone?"

"I'm planning on three weeks. It depends on how much clean up there is, though."

"Ah, that is a long time for Mistress to be in charge, isn't it? Well, I have a thing in place to help with that. ...But Master! We will be gone for your birthday! That will be a sad thing."

"What? My birthday? Eh, I guess so." Zen hadn't even considered it. He wondered briefly if he was going to be stepping on any lord's toes and sensibilities to skip any celebrations at the castle for his first birthday there as Regent. Though he didn't mind it himself.

"Well...maybe that could be another incentive to keep Ilena under control." Obi turned to Shirayuki. "Mistress, you may use that either as a stick or a carrot. If she behaves for you, when we return, we'll have a birthday party for Master in her room. You may tell her when it seems best to you. If you decide she may have it, I will use it to test her resolve." He looked at Mitsuhide and Kiki. "And shall we have it anyway?"

"I think so," Kiki looked pleased, her chin in her hand, already plotting.

Mitsuhide nodded. "It would be good to have a short break before we must become very busy with the final preparations."

"Then, Master, if the time is that short, I'll go have dinner with Grandfather. I shouldn't be away for too long."

Zen nodded and handed him the list back. "Do you understand the plan well enough to coordinate with Grandfather?"

"Has anything changed?"

Zen shook his head. "We're still expecting the flood to hit right after you deliver them. Make sure you're not caught up in it. If you come by before you head out, we'll give you an update on the full scale plans."

"Okay," Obi said, and headed for the balcony door. "I'll send for you soon, Mistress, so we can see how she'll do. If there are things that need correcting before I go, they should not be left undone."

-o-o-o-

Obi headed out the Pelican gate and started walking in the direction of The Scholars Tavern. He put his hands behind his head and gave a whistle, and shortly a middle teen girl popped out and started walking with him, her hands behind her back, humming a jaunty tune. He listened to it for a bit. "That's a good song. Is it new?"

"Yeah," she said. "The travelling entertainers were here last week. They brought it up from the coast. Said it was a new one from one of the places across the sea, translated, of course. It's pretty popular in town right now."

"Ehhh...do you think you can remember it to sing it later, after we get back? I like it."

She tipped her head. "Yes. I can remember anything."

"Well, then remember to tell Grandfather to come meet me at The Scholars Tavern. I'll be in an upstairs room. And tell him I'm sorry to make him come in a hurry - I've not got much time."

"Heh. Yeah, you've got a pretty bird in a cage that will miss you too much if you're gone too long."

Obi reached over and tweaked her ear. "Maybe."

The girl laughed and skipped away. "Let Ma and Pa know I'm on my way, too," he called after her. She waved at him without turning to look, then disappeared.

Obi stretched. He'd been inside a long time. He'd take the upper route and exercise some. At the next dark section, he was up on a roof and running. It felt good. It also felt good to know Ilena might actually be able to do it with him, maybe within the year even. Though she wasn't allowed to flex her leg for these six weeks, whenever he put his hand over the graft site to see how the recovery was going, the tendon and muscle both reacted together. Oddly enough she never complained about it, though he was sure it was still painful. The last time he'd done it, he'd watched her face to see why. It had made him smile to see the look of triumph in her eyes.

He was pleased with her progress. It had taken them the first full day to understand each other, but she was a willing student, perhaps a little over eager, even. She was going to be unhappy with him leaving in such a short time, but really it was about right. It would force her over eagerness to be moderated as it should be, and give her proper practice. He just wished it wasn't quite so long. If Mistress wasn't strong enough, it was enough time for Ilena to unlearn a lot of what he was trying to teach her, or to assume it didn't apply to everyone in the castle, which would give him more work. It would be better if he could pick it back up when he returned, for all their sakes. She had to be ready for public display by the Lord's Court, she would be mobile shortly after that, and he was going to have to split his time. Zen wouldn't let him take any more full days or weeks off just before the Lord's Court. Maybe after, if necessary, but they couldn't afford mistakes at the Court hearing.

Obi stopped and looked around the ground below him. No one was watching, so he slipped down into the space between the buildings, then walked out and across the street to The Scholars Tavern.

He walked in and Ella met him. "If you'll come this way please," she turned and led him up the stairs to one of the smaller conference rooms. It was his first time upstairs and he looked around, interested. The rooms were all around the outside, so that if you had neighbors, it was to either side, but there weren't many common walls like there would have been if they had all been centrally located. There was a center area and when he asked her she said it was a large party room that could be reserved for special occasions, but it usually entailed reserving the entire tavern, in order to keep the noise from filtering downstairs, so it wasn't done often. There were occasional small weddings there, though. Most scholars who got married didn't have loud raucous weddings after all, but if they thought they might, they made them reserve the whole place.

She ushered him into his room and took his drink order. He kept it light, to a single large beer. He wanted more, but he had lots of reasons to not do that tonight. While he waited, he pulled out his list again and re-read it. Zen had made a few notes on it and Obi took note of them.

Grandfather arrived with the food and drink, and Ella brought enough for him, too. Obi thought that was pretty fast for an old guy to show up. Either he was more spry than he let on, or the network was fast. Or perhaps he just lived close by, but somehow Obi suspected that wasn't it. It had taken him quite a while to show up the last time Obi had called him out at the castle without prior warning.

"Good evening, Grandfather," Obi said "Thank you for coming to visit with me on short notice."

"Good evening, Father." Grandfather settled at the table in the chair opposite Obi. "I'm glad to be able to see your face again."

Ella finished setting the plates and mugs before them and walked out, closing the door behind her. Obi waited until he heard her footsteps walking away, taking the opportunity to begin eating. He could see Grandfather taking note of why he paused. He was looking a little worried, but it was no wonder. He hadn't heard anything official out of the castle since before Ilena had gone under for the beginning of the experimental surgery.

"What do you know, unofficially?" Obi asked him, spearing another piece of meat and adding it to the potato already on his fork.

"Ah, that the first surgery failed and the second has apparently taken, and that you've got her in seclusion." Grandfather answered easily, but a little uncomfortably.

"Um hm. That's the official word, too." Obi didn't look up at him, but was monitoring his responses. "We nearly lost her during the second surgery, and again later that night, but she was good and came back for us. She is quite triumphant that the tendon is responding well, though she isn't to test it until the six weeks of bone healing are completed." Obi paused to eat and think about what he would say next.

"I've told her if she's good while I'm gone, she can begin to have visits with you again." This time he did look up to watch Grandfather's face. It was tight. "Is there a thing I should know?" Obi asked without appearing too interested.

The old man looked down at his plate, trying to decide how to respond. He took another slow bite. "Are you sure she'll be able to succeed? You'll be gone a long time, no?"

Obi considered. Grandfather was right. It wouldn't really be fair to Ilena if it was going to be too long for her. Finally he said, "I'll ask Miss Leah to keep watch for me. If it looks like Mistress isn't strong enough to help her succeed, I'll allow Miss Leah to call for you." Obi looked him in the eye, "But you aren't to let her work on household business. My business only. If you've had to be called in, she doesn't get her reward."

Grandfather nodded, looking relieved. "I'll be sure she doesn't."

They ate in silence a moment longer, then Obi pushed the last list over to Grandfather. Grandfather picked it up and looked at it, also carefully reading Zen's notes. Then he put the list back down, and tapped it, his face creased in concentration. "When are you expecting the flood?"

"Right after I deliver them, but I'm not to get caught up in it."

He nodded again. "That's what we're figuring, too. Are you taking the direct route in?"

"The logging path detour. Can you send a decoy group down the direct route?"

"Done. Shall we cross paths at the join?"

Obi shook his head. "We can't afford to go through the ambush spot above there. Can you hide your group in the rocks at the North Road - South Road split, then as soon as you hear us coming, head down that way? We'll pause there for fifteen minutes, then follow your group down."

Grandfather tipped his head, thinking. "Yes, that should work, though we could just remove the roadblock for you. Then you wouldn't have the opportunity to get jumped during those fifteen minutes."

Obi shook his head. "The ones who are waiting fifteen minutes aren't us. They are another decoy, from the garrison. We're trying to lead as many south as possible so the northern enemy forces won't get reinforcements. We expect one group to follow your first group down and the ambush spot will only have token resistance, meant to feel out the strength of your group, and weaken it a little. Our decoy will be bringing in another group of them. We don't want them to cross, that's why we'll wait. Your group will need to pull both sets on down the road, preferably with no evidence left behind, before our group gets to that spot." He paused to see if Grandfather understood. He nodded a tight nod. "Take them out as far down the road as possible, even to the safe house if you want. We'll keep coming up behind you and take out what's between us before we turn and take out what's coming behind. But we'll want your help for those, or we'll be sandwiched. That could be bad." Grandfather had a speculative look in his eye.

"What we need to know is where I'm to pick everyone up from and coordinate a starting point." He paused pointedly. "The closer to the castle I can pick them up, the longer I'll have with Ilena. I have to leave no later than three days out if I have to go collect them all myself. Master wants them at the safe house by six days from now."

Grandfather pursed his lips. Obi drank from his mug as he waited. The old man shook his head. "The farthest out will go to the closest garrison, but that's as far as they'll go without seeing your face. The next set will only go so far as to meet you at an inn at the same town they live in so they can go back 'home' without anyone being the wiser if you don't show up. The last set I can get out and to a temporary safe home here. I can even get them down to the safe house itself if you'll let us take them early, and don't mind breaking the required coding. They've already seen you, so they're all ready to go, without you saying anything to them." He smiled a little ruefully. "Sorry it's easy the wrong direction, but that's because of the protections they need."

Obi shrugged. "That still cuts out some of the travel time." He handed a pen over to his dining companion. "Write down the total number and ages coming with each one. We'll need to know for the decoys. It would help to have the number of blades, too, just so I know." While Grandfather wrote, Obi considered the last set. It would be convenient to let them go on down, but it didn't sit well with him. If he didn't hear their answer, he wouldn't feel right letting them in with everyone else who he'd protected. If someone slipped through that shouldn't, that would be a problem. He was already worried someone who shouldn't have had heard the code, and would get through. The only thing that helped with that was that he now knew how to see them. However, that still meant he had to see the last couple, too.

"Could you have the last couple meet us on the logging path? If you take them all the way down, Captain Garen and I won't accept them. Then we'd leave whomever you brought them in with there to guard our backs. The guards watching that path won't be friendly to anyone but who I bring in, so your folks shouldn't come down it too far, but I can let them know that we are rendezvousing there. Do you think you can get them there without being followed?"

"We'll take out anyone who does follow," Grandfather shrugged. Obi was reminded of the sudden change Foster had made when he'd told them they wouldn't keep anyone alive unless they made a special request. They all seemed so mild and friendly up until they casually mentioned protecting themselves so completely.

"Ah, I should say, even though we are letting your outside help the inside, don't mix, and don't assume you can be neighborly afterwards. That will have to wait until after the Lord's Court. We want to keep things nice and clean up until it's all over." Grandfather nodded and Obi reached for the list.

Obi was glad to see the number of children was minimal, two teens and one youngster, with two of them coming from the closest group. He'd only have one teen from the second group. Everyone else was adults, and really only single adults, the exception again being the family with the two children. So there would be two males to meet up with at the garrison, then a single male, a single female and her teenage son at the second location. Then they would meet up with the family of four and and another single male at the logging trail. Perfect. The decoys could all be from the garrison and useful blades.

He pointed to the second group. "Can they all ride, or do we need a carriage?"

Grandfather read the names again. "She can't ride, but her son can. They could double up. All of the others can, and are anticipating it."

Obi looked up at him in pleased surprise. "We can ride hard from the top?"

Grandfather nodded smiling at him. "If you want, we'll give you waypoints to trade horses at. You won't have to stop except for quick meals and short naps that way. On the way out, too. If you want, the first place will keep your horse for you to finish with on the way back, though I know he likes to run as much as you do."

"No…," Obi was thoughtful, "that would be good for him. He'll have to run hard from when I get him until I get up north. If he doesn't have to do the full thing it won't ruin him. I like that idea. How long from start to finish, then? When do I need to leave the castle?"

Grandfather pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and handed it to Obi. It was a map, with locations, dates, and times marked on it. "This is your itinerary. Just update the dates to when you want to arrive and work your way back. Don't lose it or let it out of your sight. You know what will happen if you do."

Obi nodded. He'd get everyone killed is what would happen, including the waypoint families. He looked carefully at times. They were pushing him hard on the way out, but that's what he had done the first time. They even knew how long he could go and how long he napped for. "You were keeping a good watch the first time, weren't you?" he asked, appreciatively.

Grandfather said nothing. Just took a drink from his mug. Obi felt a bit of smugness from him, though.

He put his finger on the garrison farthest out. He'd send out his first decoy there, a duplicate of himself to continue on, then disappear. They'd make it look like he'd left a message and a small squad was being sent back along the route he'd come. He pointed it out to Grandfather and told him how much time he expected to stay there and when they would leave, asking him to update their notes so that they were on the same page. Grandfather nodded and Obi looked at the return route.

He was pleased the only public place they would be during the whole trip was the tavern he would pick up the second set from. "Is it run by Family?" Obi asked.

Grandfather shook his head. "You'll have to lay low in that town. The whole place is owned by the enemy. The first two will wait for you outside town. We do have people that will help you get in, and help everyone get out, though. As soon as you get into town, pause by the well. A child will take your hand and ask you to help find his mother. Go with it and he will lead you to her. They will hand you off to each other in like manner until you get where you need to be. Let them come to you once you're in the tavern. If each of you are happy, they'll leave first and meet up with you at the other side of town. You'll be led out in a similar fashion to how you were led in, but each one of you will be going different routes. The first two will collect them if it looks dangerous for them before you get there, so you'll just have to find them. Look for the two headed cat."

"The next distance is short," Obi looked at it and saw it was so. "That's because you'll have to ride double to get there. The horses won't be able to go as far, but you'll get more horses there." Obi saw the next napping point was the following stopover. It would be very early in the morning. Then riding hard all the way to the safe house. So still roughly two and half days. That didn't cut off much time, but it meant he'd have one last night with Ilena and could get his final orders the next morning, instead of having to get them in the afternoon and leave by sunset in two days. That would be easier. She still needed him more at night than during the day, and he wasn't any different.

Obi sighed. Grandfather looked at him. "Is it not okay?"

"Ah, it's not that. The itinerary is fine." Obi folded it up and put it in his jacket along with the list of names. "It's what comes after that."

Grandfather looked at him with a commiserating smile. "Yes. Long battles are always horrible things that are just necessary and nothing else. Always takes fortitude to get through them. ...Are you taking Thayne with you?"

Obi considered. He hadn't thought of it yet. "I won't, but Ilena will make it happen somehow anyway. He's a steadying influence for her, but she all but told me when she sent me to get him that she'd be sending him with me up north. When he meets up with me, I won't send him away."

Grandfather looked approving. "It's always good to have someone watching your back in larger battles like this one. And...," his face got very serious, "if Father falls, Mother will follow."

Obi stopped and looked at him sharply. "Even if I've been training her not to?"

Grandfather looked at him as if he were a young child who understood nothing. "Obi," It was the first time anyone in the Family outside the castle had used his first name and it surprised him. "Don't you know yet what you are to her? What she is? What her ultimate goal is?"

"...You know?" Obi asked him. Grandfather nodded, still looking him in the eye. That's right, he was one of the Immediate Family. That made sense, that he would know. Obi blinked and considered the other man's words. "Haaah. Yes, she will, won't she. ...I'll be careful." In their role reversal this week, he'd forgotten. He was hers.

Obi leaned back, holding onto the edge of the table with one hand, his other hand draped over the back of his chair. The tips of the fingers holding the table tapped quietly on the table as he looked at Grandfather appraisingly. "One last question." Grandfather nodded. "How much support is the Family going to give Master's forces?"

Grandfather didn't look quite surprised at the question. He did grin to let Obi know he'd won points. "Rather a lot, actually. We were hoping to learn what the sign was to be known as friendlies so there wasn't Family caught in the crossfire."

Obi reached into his jacket pocket again and drew out a simply drawn falcon with its wings spread wide, white on black, with a half waxing moon over it's head, three arrows in it's claws. "That's the symbol of our falconess we fight for. Put it someplace easy to spot, but keep it covered until the battle is joined. You know what will happen if it's discovered early."

Grandfather took it and touched it a bit reverently. "It's a message to him, isn't it?" He looked back up at Obi his eyes round.*

Obi nodded. "Master is very angry."

Grandfather slowly grinned a big and very predatory grin. "We're looking forward to that hunt. He's been hurting Mother for a very long time."

"Hmm…," Obi moved forward to lean on the table. "Scary. An entire household out for revenge. Twice." But his eyes were the same as Grandfathers, and his grin matched as well. Then he stood. "Well, I'll be glad to be able to run with them, then. I'll be going up late, with Thayne I assume. So tell them to be looking for me to come from behind, but end up first in line. Earl College is mine, though I'm not fool enough to take him on alone. The uncle is Zen's. Make sure he's not alone either, though he'll have Mister and Miss Kiki along, of course. Watch over them, too. They've finally decided to get married and we'd like to see it actually happen." Obi set his payment down on the table and started to walk towards the door.

He stopped and looked back. "Oh, by the way, I'm officially Father, but until she's trained to come to Master's call, we're not a couple. And until King Brother okay's it, we're not married."

Grandfather looked at him, then nodded. "I'll let the rest of the Immediate Family know."

Obi nodded back, then let himself out. On his way back to the castle, he wondered who else was in the Immediate Family. He only knew of the four, Mother, Father, Leah, and Grandfather, and he still didn't know Leah's title. Maybe it was time for another lesson with Thayne...or maybe it could wait until they were on the road together. As he ran back to the castle, he was thinking he would like that bit of the adventure waiting ahead.

-o-o-o-

Obi stopped by at the Rose office first, though he could feel that he'd already been gone too long from Ilena. He quickly showed Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki the map he'd been given. He summarized the conversation, including that they could expect a decent support from the household in both locations of battle. Then, telling them he'd come get his final orders the fourth morning from then, he headed back out the door and hurried to Ilena's room.

As he expected, Ilena glared at him in annoyance, but she was good and didn't say anything. He asked Leah for her report, then excused her.

Obi sat on the bed next to Ilena and looked at her mildly. "Get used to it."

Her look changed to one of confusion, then she sighed. "Master Zen's ready then?"

Obi nodded and rewarded her with a small smile.

She looked at him sadly for a moment. Then her eyes went hard, and he was again reminded of Foster and Grandfather and thought that the symbol they had chosen was very appropriate. She was the falconess in that moment. "Kill them, Obi. Of all the people, in all the chaos, make sure _they_ don't leave the mountain alive." She looked at him a moment longer, her expression unwavering. "I know Master Zen has thought of the option of keeping me alive by treating with uncle. Don't let him do it. I won't live. I'll choose death first, killing him first if I can. No matter what you will teach me here, if I end up there, I won't submit."

Obi, remembering what Grandfather had reminded him of, changed what he would have said prior to this time. "Yes, My Lady."

She looked at him surprised, then with gratitude.

"Ilena, I'll be having Mistress come in briefly tomorrow while I'm here. She has a thing she's been wanting to talk to you about." Ilena's eyes widened. He could tell she was excited to see Shirayuki. Then her eyes narrowed. She kept her mouth shut, but he could see she was fighting to not speak. He made her wait until she had her impatience under control, then he nodded. "You may say it."

"That means you're leaving within three days. That will be difficult."

"It amazes me how you already know all of this. Are you sure you haven't had to learn it all before?"

As it was his way to teach her with teasing, because she lost her temper the fastest with it, she was able to let this pass acceptably. "Of course I have," she said calmly. "I've lived in a castle before."

He looked at her. "How old were you when you left?"

"Seven...going on forty, or so they told me."

"So is it a problem with you being too young at the time? Or too much time between then and now?"

"If it was a problem with age, they wouldn't have called me Mother from the beginning." That was true. He'd experienced that himself. "It's that I've received too much training from my enemy, but that's a story for when Master Zen is ready for it."

He was taken aback by that answer. "Is that why you're so eager to be retrained?" he asked slowly.

Her eyes became blank slates. He sighed. She did that when she had too many answers and didn't know which one to pick. He reworded it. "Is that one of the reasons you're so eager to be retrained?"

She waited an appropriate amount of time to recover and then even took the time to word the answer thoughtfully. "Yes, Obi, it is." But he could see the fires of hatred burning in her eyes. That had been a difficult success. He rewarded her by brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. She half-closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek on his hand, in a good imitation of a bird interacting with it's master.

He lifted a lock of hair between his fingers and, as he slid his hand down it to return his hand to himself, he said to her. "It will be three mornings from now. I hope you will continue to do your best."

Ilena shivered and closed her eyes. He could see her in his mind's eye, a distressed falcon with its feathers fluffed, it's head turned away and down. If she could have moved, she would probably have curled up.

"What will you use to reward yourself with good behavior, Ilena? What will keep moving you forward?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him, the falcon in his mind turning it's head to look at him, though it was still hunched. After thinking for a moment, she answered him, "When I wish to misbehave, I will remember Obi. When I miss Obi, I will run with him in my mind. When I need a reason to keep moving forward I will soar above the army and smell the blood of my enemies." Then she sighed. "And when I need to throw a tantrum, I shall warn Leah in advance so she can be prepared."

He raised his eyebrow. "You won't promise to not throw tantrums?"

She turned away from him. "How can I promise such a thing when you will be gone so long? This room is already too small. Even the falcons in the aerie will scream for the sky when kept in the dark too long."

It was true. Allowing her to vent would prevent her from slipping into depression, which she might do anyway, given her recent surgery. "All right." Her ears perked up. "I'll let Miss Leah know that if you warn her in advance, that a tantrum won't be punished. But, you can't use that as an excuse. If you abuse it, that will be punished." She looked back at him and nodded. "And, what do you want from me if you are able to last the whole time with good reports to me when I return?"

She trembled. He already knew the answer. He waited for it. "I want Obi to sleep with me that night. So that I will know that you are really still alive, and really back here in the castle. That you haven't gone away for good. That I didn't send you to die." There were tears in her eyes.

"I'll do it," he said. He had known it because it was his answer as well. They were partners, and being separated during times like those were the hardest, for both of them. And there was another time. "And I will sleep with Ilena two nights from now, so that I may have the strength to leave again." This statement was not a reward. This was her responsibility as his partner.

Ilena's tears spilled over, the relief on her face nearly painful. She lifted a hand and covered her eyes. He sat quietly by her side until she was sleeping, then he moved to the other bed and readied himself for sleeping. She had done very well tonight, given the news he'd had to bring her.

* * *

 _*The 'him' here is the man in Tarc that is planning to bring war to Wilant. Thus why Obi says the household is out for revenge 'twice' - once for Earl College, the other for the man in Tarc._


	29. The Regent Begins to Move

_So, I've started a story/thread for one-shots for this novel set, in case you haven't seen it yet (Dance of the Moons). So far it's a love scene from Book 2 that I needed to get written before if fled my brain (ch3) and Obi's scar story (ch2). And an Intro pg (ch1) which will throw everyone off from ever reading at all, I suppose, like the Prologue of this Book, which I removed this week so it now starts right in at Chapter 1. Maybe I'll make Obi's scar story ch1 over there...sigh. Learning how fanfic works is sometimes slow going._

 _We are finally at our destination for this Book. Please enjoy the fast and seemingly slow ride to the end. To me, these last chapters are like watching Olympic-level figure skating and the final is a smooth glide to a stop that makes you wish it could continue on...(and it will, in Book 2)._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 29 The Regent Begins to Move**

The next morning, the Regent of Wilant lifted his head and breathed, and a faint wind stirred the land. An even fainter mist rose and fled unseen to the north. Grandfather sent his voice down its courses and the Children of Mother raised their heads and began preparations.

Two nights later, as Obi lay holding his healing partner, Ilena turned her head to him and said, "Father, ...love my Children."

"I will, Mother," he promised and ran his fingers through her hair.

Her hand reached up and clutched at his shirt. "And, Obi, love me more... Come back. Return to me as alive and unharmed as you will leave."

He kissed her forehead gently and held her to him. "I will." And he knew she wept silent tears of frustration at her inability to protect him herself.

The morning of the third day, he carefully and tenderly cared for her as he had for the last week, even as he had for the first month they had been reunited. Ilena watched every move and trembled at every touch as she memorized them, her heart beating wildly to be set free of her bindings so that she wouldn't have to be separated from him. When he was done he fed her the last breakfast they would have together for many weeks, and she still did not take her eyes off his face.

When he turned to take the cart out of the room and call Leah to sit with her, she called to him, raising her hand. "Sir Obi!"

He turned towards her, surprised. At the look in her eyes, he turned and went to her side, kneeling on the floor beside the bed on one knee, and took her hand. "May your arm be strong, your sword swift, and your horse never stumble. May your sight never dim, your companions never fail you, and only the blood of your enemies stain the ground. Go forth conquering, and bring me the head and left hand of my enemy."

"Yes, My Lady," he said solemnly and kissed the back of her hand. He stood and looked at her, then tipped his head. "Selician?"

She shook her head. "The battle blessing of Tarc." Her look was one of fierce ownership. He looked at her a moment longer, then nodded and went to fetch Leah.

He gave instructions to Leah in Ilena's hearing that he wanted her to know of, then he took Leah out to give her private instructions. When Leah returned to her Mistress, Ilena had her head turned away and would not answer her. She sighed and let her alone. Mistress Shirayuki would arrive after lunch, and that would be soon enough to cajole Mistress Ilena.

Obi stopped by the pharmacy and spoke briefly with Ryuu, who promised to help take care of Ilena. He told Ryuu what the best time for his emotionally stabilizing tea had been, and asked if it could have the leaf that boosted a sorrowful mood increased for the time he was away. Ryuu nodded solemnly, then wished him well.

When Obi reached the Rose office, Zen and Mitsuhide were already at the maps. Obi looked around the room. "Where is Mistress?"

"Next door," Kiki answered without looking up. "Mornings is when she sees the petitioners."

"Ah," Obi said, remembering she had talked about that with Ilena, who had been very pleased. He walked over and joined the two men at the maps. Kiki joined them shortly after.

At noon, when the sun over Clarines was at its highest, a lone rider left out of the Sword gate and ran his horse hard from the east to the west along the North Road. As he rode through that day and into the night, and then again into the next day, he carried with him the breath of the Regent of Wilant and a fog began to slowly rise behind him, though at this time it was still. The echos of the voice of Grandfather sounded throughout the Children of Mother and they began to rise up to do her bidding.

The morning after Obi left, when Thayne and Leah had completed caring for Ilena, and Thayne had finished feeding her, Ilena called Thayne to her. "Thayne, my Son whom I have given to Father, and with whom I am well pleased." She held her hand out to him as she had to Obi. In unknowing imitation of his master, he knelt beside her bed and took her hand, knowing what was coming. He was both itching to follow his master, and sorrowful that there would be none to stay with his mistress during her long, lonely vigil, or so it felt.

"Father goes into battle with none to stand at his back. This is not acceptable to me. As his man-at-arms, it is your responsibility to protect him in all things. Go to Grandfather and learn where you may meet him so that you can journey to the north at his side. Stay by his side and return triumphant with him. ...But if he should fall, stay to witness how it was done, then return to me and tell me you have seen it with your own eyes so that I must be required to believe it. Of yourself, you may not fall, nor avenge his blood until you have reported it to me, for I will believe no other's word." Thayne nodded, hoping mightily he would not ever have to report such a thing to her. "Speak my words in Grandfather's ear, that I require my First Son to stand by your side behind Father as his second until Father returns to me here, but he is not to disclose his identity." Thayne's eyes widened, but somehow, he was not really surprised. "Yes, Mother," he said obediently. She gave him the same battle blessing she had given Obi, and he rose, bowed, and left to do her bidding.

Thayne spoke to Grandfather Mother's words, and the words he sent out along its courses in response sent a tremor through all of her Children and they moved as if it were a silent unseen flood toward the north, with eddies swirling towards the east and south of the castle, the battle lust in their eyes - normally so calm and kind - kindled by her own.

One day after Grandfather sent his word out to the Children, a disguised Obi was leaving the farthest west garrison with two others, also disguised as soldiers on an errand, returning from the west to the east. As they ran hard along the road, the mist that had risen in his wake from the east to the west began to slowly bubble and roll.

Also at that same time, Zen called Dane to the war table. "Where is he?" he asked the aide.

Dane looked over the map carefully, then considered the time. "Here," he placed a finger east of the garrison that was the first pickup spot, "...returning."

Zen nodded. "And where will he be tomorrow at this time?"

Dane drew his finger eastward on the map from that location towards Osterly, then slightly beyond, then tapped it thoughtfully. "He will likely be on or close to the hidden route."

Zen was pleased. He looked at Mitsuhide. "Please let the troops know we will leave tomorrow at this time." Mitsuhide made a note in his schedule, then left the room to inform the castle garrison.

-o-o-o-

Zen confirmed Obi's location one more time with Dane the next day at noon, then he gave the order and Mitsuhide rolled the maps up carefully. These were the waterproof maps that were taken on campaign. He placed them in their containers, and then into the bag he flung onto his back. Zen looked at Dane and Tairn as Mitsuhide and Kiki waited for him at the door. "This will be the test of the Malkin family. I will leave the Rose office in your hands." The brothers bowed to him and the three turned and left, going over to the Lotus office.

"Shirayuki," Zen called her. She was preparing for the next day's petitioners before going to sit with Ilena. He paused, then said, "You could have her help you with this part. Then she would already be prepared to help you when she can move about."

Shirayuki looked up at him, a little startled. "Ah, that's true isn't it?"

Mitsuhide smiled at her, "You are used to being very self sufficient, but it is a strength to use the strength of others."

Shirayuki nodded. She remembered that Ilena had said the same to her when Zen had finally decided to open the Rosebud office. She set the papers aside and rose to greet Zen. "You're going?" she finally noticed the bags the others were carrying. Zen nodded. She quickly put her papers together and stuffed them into her folder. "I'll come see you off, then."

They walked down together to the garrison grounds where a stand had been set up for Zen to speak to his men from. The soldiers who would not be staying with the castle were gathered together in squadrons upon the grounds. Before entering the grounds proper, Zen made Shirayuki stand between Mitsuhide and Kiki, telling her to come on the stand with them and stand behind him. She looked at him a little startled, but nodded, then made sure her folder wasn't sloppy, since she didn't have anywhere to put it but to hold it.

They walked across the field and up onto the stand. Shirayuki noticed that there were three horses standing ready beside the stand, including Zen's white horse. It made her heart clench. They were really going, without her, and for three weeks. She took a deep breath. She had plenty to do. She would be helping Tairn and Dane in the office, doing her own work with the petitioners, and sitting with Ilena, not to mention learning all she could that Ilena had promised to teach her. It would go quickly. But, still, it was the first time Zen was leaving her behind.

She listened to Zen's rousing battle speech, feeling the excitement of the soldiers who were looking forward to showing him what they could do. She smiled, thinking of the respect the soldiers had towards Zen. They had often been her staunchest supporters as well. She looked out over them and felt pride for their strength they lent to him. It helped her have strength also, to know that they would be fighting for and with him. As Zen completed his speech, the soldiers shouted with one voice, "Regent Zen! Regent Zen!" Then he turned, but instead of walking down the stairs to his horse, as she expected, he motioned her forward.

She started and Mitsuhide turned and bowed to her and offered her his arm. As she took it, he said to her very softly, "You can just wave, but if you'd like to give them some words of encouragement, it would be helpful." She looked up at him, her eyes wide. Then she looked at Zen again, and he smiled at her. She looked into his eyes, then smiled back. Mitsuhide placed her on the stand next to Zen and bowed himself back to his position. Somehow he'd slipped the folder from her arm and she didn't have it any more. She clasped her hands in front of her skirt and thought back to what she had just been feeling.

"Thank you for supporting Regent Zen. The strength you lend to him is the strength of Clarines and Wilant. You make all of us who depend on you proud and give us the strength to continue to move forward also." She bowed to them. "Thank you." The soldiers roared their approval.

Zen looked at her, his brilliant blue eyes sparkling. He reached up to put his hand behind her head, and said, quietly, according to his promise from long ago, "I am going to kiss you now, Shirayuki," and he followed through without waiting for her answer. She was vaguely aware that beyond the blood rushing loudly in her ears the soldiers were cheering madly.

"Well, that seems appropriate," Kiki said mildly as they escorted a reeling Shirayuki off the stand after Zen. "Announcing his intentions to the soldiers first."

"Its excellent for morale, too," Mitsuhide grinned back at her.

"Well, but it puts her in the middle of things all by herself though," Kiki frowned back. "To announce it then cowardly run away."

Zen looked back at them as they arrived next to him by the horses. "I'm not running away. I'm giving everyone time to get used to the idea. After all, it's only her they're going to find at the Rose office while we're gone. Oh, and do use my desk for your work while we're away, Shirayuki. It's available. You don't need to work alone in the Lotus office. I'm sure Dane and Tairn would welcome your company."

Shirayuki nodded, completely missing his ulterior motives behind his offer, her head still spinning. Mitsuhide and Kiki stared at him for a moment, though. Then Kiki hid a laugh behind her hand and Mitsuhide shook his head. To cover they turned and put their burdens on their horses. They'd recovered by the time Zen finished giving Shirayuki a hug, and they turned to hug her as well. "Take care," she told them, hoping they understood she meant all of them, but especially Zen. Then they all swung up into their saddles and the Regent of Wilant, her beloved Prince Zen, with his faithful aides and friends at his back, rode out the Sword gate at the head of the castle soldiers.

The fog started by the mouth of the Regent began to roll inexorably forward towards the north in earnest, blanketing the land as it moved, and for a time it appeared that the fog was being raised because of the flood that ran before it. The Regent himself rode with it, coming from the east to cover the rider who was returning from the west.

-o-o-o-

Thayne stood waiting, holding the reins of two horses in his hand, that of his own horse, and that of his Master's. The way-station house had been informed that Father, with his Children, were on their way and would arrive within the half-hour. He had just finished saddling the horses and was walking them to the courtyard to tether them for leaving. It was the last stop before the group would turn off the main road and take to cover, allowing the decoys to lead any enemies further along the main road and the path that Obi had followed. This meant it was the last place Thayne could meet up with Obi easily.

He had just finished tying up the last of the horses when he heard faint hoofbeats coming towards the house. He called to the house to let them know, and went and stood out in the middle of the drive that came from the main road. When he saw the five horses coming, steaming and sweating, he grinned. Father always loved to run as fast as he could, but he never ran first when he was escorting Children. Still, Thayne was sure he'd seen him. He heard the other members of the house coming out, now. The lady of the house and her daughter would be carrying food and drink. The husband and his sons were coming to help take the labored horses.

Four of the five horses passed him, stopping further into the courtyard. The fifth pulled up next to him and he held the reins as Obi leapt of the horse, then stumbled slightly. Thayne wordlessly caught him, then decided to hold on to him just a moment longer. He raised his eyebrow. "Mother would be furious if she knew you've been skipping out on sleep this whole time."

Obi nodded, resting his hands on his knees, waiting for the world to stop spinning. "Master's scarier.

"Then you haven't seen Mother mad yet. I thought they'd planned in sleeping stops?" Thayne asked him.

Obi just looked at him darkly. Thayne held his tongue. Obi finally just gave up and dropped to the ground, sitting cross-legged. Thayne took the horse he'd been riding to the stable for the others to take care of, then went and fetched food and water for Obi and took it to him, since he wasn't quite capable of moving still. The others were also sitting on the ground near where they had dropped off their horses, eating and drinking and being waited on by the ladies of the house.

"Have you learned to sleep in the saddle, yet?" Thayne asked him.

Obi nodded as he hungrily ate. "Can't when protecting them, though."

Thayne nodded. "Then you sleep, I'll protect." Obi looked at him around the edge of his mug, then nodded wearily. "Or would you rather sleep here for a few hours?"

Obi shook his head. "They're closer than we thought they would be. They seem to want to herd us. The only thing I can figure out is that we aren't bringing in one group, but are getting fresh groups that are trading out."

Thayne looked worried. "Have you told the other way-stations this?"

"Yes. They each have said they will handle it."

Thayne nodded. "I'll go tell this one. Is there anything else to it I should mention?" Obi shook his head. "No patterns?" Obi shook his head again. Thayne stared at him. "It's not Earl College's orders then."

Obi looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "Apparently not."

"And did you say that to anyone else?"

Obi shrugged. "Probably, but I stopped paying attention to what was coming out of my mouth after we had the second set with us. We barely made it into town and almost didn't make it out. It's taken everything to get us this far ahead."

"How long do we have?" Thayne was alarmed.

"Just long enough. Like I said, they are pressing us to keep moving. They aren't attacking...yet."

"Any thoughts on where they might?"

Obi shook his head wearily. "I'm just hoping the next part of the route isn't compromised."

Thayne chewed on his lip. "Will you let me lead us in?"

Obi looked at him long and hard. "I still have to collect the last set. You know where?"

Thayne nodded, still thinking out a plan. "I'll be right back."

Thayne went and talked to the man of the house, James. He told him what Obi had said, and James looked worried. "That doesn't sound good at all."

"I think someone's either leaked our communication system, or someone's working for their side that's been on our side." Thayne said.

James was thunderstruck. "That's the worst possible."

Thayne nodded. "We're going to have to test it. Don't send out word we've left until we've had enough leeway to get ahead. Then watch to see who passes. Grandfather needs to know immediately if it's a traitor." James nodded. "If it isn't, then we need to delve deeper. If more than one person knows the code on that side we'll have to scrap it, and it's the best one we've had yet."

James sighed in agreement. "Alright. I'll use the local code to send out the general gather after I send out the move-along code. If they swing back around, they are with a local person and we might be able to weed it down. If they don't, we'll just take them out and see who's in the mix. Once we've got it narrowed down I'll send word both directions."

Thayne thanked him, then went and introduced himself to the Children coming in this trip. They were nearly as tired as Obi. He was going to have to take it slow enough they stayed in the saddle, but fast enough they could get to the safe house and rest. Then he had a thought and went back to James.

"Have you got a wagon we can have? I'll leave the horses with you and you can trade them for another, except Father's and mine."

James looked at him in surprise, then grinned. "They are pretty wasted, aren't they. Mixing it up might just be the thing to do. Give me a bit. The boy's and I'll get things set up. But I'd like the wagon to be a loan and have it back before harvest time. Do you think that's possible?"

Thayne considered. "Yeah, I think that could happen. Might have to have the soldiers stationed there bring it by, though."

"That'd be okay," James said, and he turned and headed back into the stable. Thayne took the other fresh horses back into the stable and started unsaddling them, ignoring the surprised looks from Obi and the others still sitting on the ground. He carefully kept his and Obi's horses separate, and put their gear near the door and added the gear from the other Children. When James and his sons pulled the wagon out of the barn, Thayne was very satisfied. It was indeed the standard way-station wagon Mother had requisitioned.

The way-station wagons were built to be harvest time wagons - high sides, large capacity, and very sturdy. It took two horses to pull them when they were loaded down. But what only a very few knew was that they were also stow-away wagons. Each had a false bottom with entry from above and exit below for emergencies. There would be enough room for the six people to lay out and sleep, but not much for wiggling, though Thayne didn't expect much of that. There was room in the box under the driver for the gear, and a false bottom there as well.

While the two sons stowed the gear, Thayne and James worked on getting the horses into the traces. Since they were battle trained, it was a bit difficult. They weren't very eager to all of a sudden be draft horses, but Thayne didn't want to have them stick out by being halter led at the back. That would be too suspicious. He was able to finally talk his horse into it. Obi eventually had to get up and come talk to his before it would acquiesce. They decided it was only because he was promised a good two day run after it was over.

"So...where are the rest of us going so that we aren't seen?" Obi asked.

Thayne looked at him speculatively. "Do you want me to tell you, or do you want to find out on your own when you wake up?"

"Wake up?"

Thayne hauled back and hit Obi so hard he spun nearly a full circle and fell to the ground in a heap. "Right then," he said and hauled him back up and over his shoulder. "I'll likely pay dearly for that later."

"...I ...should think so," said James rather weakly. "Was it really necessary?"

"He's as bad about small spaces as Mother, James. You know what it was like." Thayne didn't look at him.

James had been one of the Children at Earl College's home, Farmor. He paled. "He's going to kill you if he wakes up in the box. It would have been better if you'd told him first."

"Nope, then he would have fought back - and he's the one we need to hide the most." He heaved Obi onto the edge of the back of the wagon. "Get the rest of them over here." He checked to make sure he hadn't done too much damage to Obi's face, or killed him - he'd spun rather dramatically. He was alive and the skin hadn't broken, but it would bruise up good.

As James' sons opened up the box in the back, he turned to the others, who were looking at him with a bit of fright in their eyes, not quite sure what he was planning. "Let me introduce myself again, now that he's out. I'm Thayne of Wexford, Father's man-at-arms, one of the first set of Children taken to the safe house, but called out by Mother to walk behind him. You'd all know me as Fourth Son." They all looked at him, shocked, then nodded and relaxed just a bit. "Father's filled me in on what's been going on. I think we've got either a leak or a traitor, so we're changing it up. The lot of you need sleep more than anything, so here's your bed. It will be a bit bumpy, but for the time you are all out like logs, it won't matter. There are soft beds in quiet rooms waiting for you, so the comfortable sleep will have to wait until then."

"Do any of you know how these work?" Two raised their hands. "Great. One of you get over next to the escape hatch. We'll put Father on it. If he wakes up and panics, drop him. He won't like that any more than being punched, but it will be better than leaving him stuck in the box. His horse won't leave him behind. The other one of you, get under the door knob on the opposite end. The rest of you, in between. Don't think too hard about it. Just close your eyes and imagine you're in your nice cozy bed. You'll fall asleep soon enough. We get enough from the main house that Mother had them made special so it isn't dark and closeted. It'll be light and airy enough during the daylight, though that makes it dusty. You'll want baths by the time we get where we're going." He turned back to the escape hatch man, Oren. "If you can cover his eyes and talk him into believing he's not in a box, you don't have to drop him, but I don't know how long he'll last that way."

Oren nodded. "I was at the house when he was. I remember."

"Good, that makes you the best man for the job, then. Let's get going before he wakes up." The teens had already lifted Obi into the box over the escape hatch after making good and sure the latch wasn't going to let him drop accidentally. It was made to open suddenly, dropping the person on it, then allow each of the remaining passengers to roll out of it one by one. If they held still just long enough, the wagon would pass harmlessly over them, then they could jump up and run off the road and escape. It wasn't glorious, and the drop could be painful, but it was usually well worth it compared to what the alternatives were.

The top door was actually almost the whole of the false floor. It was easier to get them into because it didn't feel like crawling into a cave. The psychology of it all had been extremely important to Mother, but that didn't mean she would have ridden in one, any more than Obi would have chosen to. They'd been locked up as part of their 'punishment' more than anyone else in the household. Thayne had actually been pretty amazed that they had lasted in the small rooms Ilena had been in at the castle. He'd learned pretty quickly it was only because they stayed together, and it was why he'd been called in to stay with her at night during the second pick-up of witnesses. He'd been very glad that he'd not had to endure that particular punishment when he was spending nights with Mother, but then, he'd never been at Farmor anyway. He'd just heard all the stories.

When everyone was in, the boys shut the door and made sure it clicked shut. There were hidden latches on the outside and obvious ones on the inside. The two men on either end would be able to find them just fine to get the door open when they got where they were going. The boys threw in straw to make it look like Thayne had just made a delivery and was on his way back home, though the high sides and back, which James latched closed again, made it difficult to tell anyway. A man on horseback would be able to just look in and see that it was empty of cargo. Thayne reassured the horses one last time, then climbed into the driver's seat.

"Since we're going by wheel, give me twenty minutes head start, but only wait until they're just past to call in the reinforcements," He didn't want the traitor to get very far ahead, if there was one. "I'm going to go to running calls. If Grandfather gets worried, send it back by the old one-three code. He'll know it's from me. But otherwise, keep it hushed. I know the local code where I'm going so they'll pick me up when I get there."

James nodded. "Good luck. We'll find out who it is and make sure it gets fixed."

Thayne nodded and got the horses going. It took about a half-hour to get them used to pulling, but by then, he was off the main road and long gone from the places the enemy behind them knew about.

-o-o-o-

Around sunset, Thayne finally heard the noises he'd been waiting to hear. There was a cry, a thump, then a crash. Obi's horse stopped pulling and the wagon bumped into it's rear. It took a bit of clashing between the horses and the wagon to get it to stop - they hadn't practiced that yet, after all. By the time that was done, Obi's cursing was winding down. Thayne climbed up to stand on the driver's seat to see over the sides of the wagon and smiled down at him standing behind the wagon about fifteen feet. Obi was not at all pleased, and Thayne was pretty sure that was his murderous look. He heard the click that said the others had pulled the escape hatch closed again.

"Good evening, Father. You slept longer than I thought. That's good. Climb in the back. I've thrown in a cloak. Wrap it around yourself and keep the hood up over your head and face. You've just bummed a ride from a farmer headed home with an empty wagon. Come sit up in this corner," he pointed to the one beneath him inside the wagon, "and I'll explain as we move. We're late as it is since our two horses aren't used to this kind of work."

Obi, anger bordering on rage still on his face, ran, leaped and vaulted over the high back of the wagon. Thayne kept watch for one of his throwing daggers to come his way, just in case, but one didn't, which was a good sign. Father was in control at least a little bit. He sat back down and got the horses going again, although they looked at him affronted first. He promised them apples at the safe house when they got there.

"We're not going that far," Obi said coldly.

"Well, actually, we are. Listen to what I have to say."

Obi listened while Thayne explained that their communication system had been compromised somehow, that he'd made the decision to change the travel plans, and travel silently because of that. So far it had paid off in that they hadn't been discovered, but it did mean they were running with no protection. Thus the trade-off was so far a neutral. He expected to reach local friendlies soon, though, and then they might find out some information about what had happened.

"As soon as we reach the local communication network around the safe house, I'm going to have them move the last set of Children and have them meet us elsewhere. If their location is known by the enemy because of the communications breach, it's possible they're planning to attack at the time we pick them up, getting them all at once, and close enough to the safe house to take it out, too. ...Assuming there are still Children left alive to pick up, that is."

"But, why are we going to the house?" Obi still hadn't heard anything to say they should yet.

"Because this wagon's a loaner. The only way to get it back in one piece to it's owner is to take it through the front gate."

"And how are we going to do that in the middle of a battle?" Obi had moved from cold to testy. That was a good direction, Thayne thought.

"Oh, I expect it will be all over by the time we get there."

"It's taking us that long?"

"No. The plans changed because the enemy did something unexpected, right?" Obi was silent. It was a rather frightening thought. "But that's okay. We're used to that kind of thing. If our side had to go out hunting, they went hunting. Like I said, when we're in range, we'll learn what happened."

"Just why are you guys used to this kind of thing?"

"We're trained to it," was all Thayne would say.

Obi was quiet for a long while after that. Probably nursing a headache. Thayne actually hoped he'd gone back to sleep.

-o-o-o-

"Thayne, I've got a question. ...These Children didn't feel they had the authority to answer." Obi seemed to have woken up again back in the wagon bed.

"Go ahead." Thayne was willing to talk as they went. It was still a bit of a drive before they reached the next Children, apparently.

"They're all horsemen, except Miss Maise, am I right?"

"Yes."

"To train and care for Mother's herds?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how she knew who to put where, even from so long ago?"

"That's the kind of mind she has. It's pretty amazing to watch, actually, though you've got to have the patience of a king to see it sometimes. We're pretty lucky to be at a point where a lot of her effort is coming together at once."

"...Yeah," Obi said quietly. It sounded like his head was resting on his arms, his legs tucked up in front of him.

There was a sound in front of the wagon. Thayne answered it and a lithe body dropped into the seat next to him. "Hey, Ox!" the young man said cheerfully to Thayne.

"Hey, Slim," Thayne said back. "What's happening these days around your house?"

"Haah... Loads of stuff, actually. I'm not sure where to start."

"Hoh? Well, tell me about the Children."

"Ah, they are doing well, but we've had to move them from the chicken coop to the barn. They've been growing so fast, you know." he winked at Thayne.

"Well, when you've got that many, I suppose you have to make allowances. Will your da' let me take some off his hands yet to help in my fields?"

'Slim' thought about it. "Well, he might. They're pretty skittish at the moment, but they'd like to get to a place they can feel more secure. Want to see?"

"Yup. That's pretty important to me right now. I'd be willing to take them tonight, if they'd be willing to go."

"Well, then just keep going straight for now. I'll keep talking while we go. I've just run a long ways and could use the rest."

"Oh? It's that far?"

"No. It just took me a long time to find you."

"Hitching rides is your thing, isn't it, Slim," he said as if bored.

The young man smiled. "Why not, when all you've got is your own hooves to run around on normally."

Thayne grinned back. "Well, mine aren't up to that right now. I like being able to hitch a ride now and then, too."

They sat quietly for a moment, then Thayne said, "Have you heard from your Grandfather yet?"

"He was asking after you," Slim said solemnly. "There's been a bit of a panic, actually."

"Tell me about it," Thayne said. It was hard to tell if he was asking, or if he was being sarcastic.

"The river's been compromised. Only the tributaries are flowing right now, and that's apparently upstream and down. The Family's got a work-around about in place, but I left before hearing the last word on what it was. Grandpa wants to talk to you before you head out again, though."

"I'll be sure to do that," Thayne said quietly. "I'm not sure we'll be able to make it to the next stop, elsewise, given what I've heard. Tell me about your Father's mousetraps."

"Haahh... Well, that," Slim was reluctant to say. "Well...maybe someone else can tell you about that. But there aren't any mice where I'm taking you, just some friendly watch dogs."

"All right."

"Ah, you know what the stream around here sounds like?"

"Yes."

"Then, this is my stop. Listen for it."

"Thanks, Slim."

"No problem, Ox. See ya!" The young man jumped down from the wagon and disappeared into the woods again.

When the wagon had gone a few more wheel turns, Obi landed on the seat next to Thayne. "Hello, 'Ox'. Okay, I know how to see, but how do you know the names?"

Thayne grinned at him. "We just make them up based on what the person reminds us of when we first lay eyes on them. He was pretty skinny, so 'Slim' worked. It actually works pretty well. Someone else might see something different, but if they already have a word given to them their own mind will fill it in nicely. It rarely ever gets mistaken when combined with knowing how to see."

"So... roses and a thorn?"

"Sallie, Miss Freida, her maid, and Dane."

"The hare and the tree...that'd be Peter and Foster?"

"Yup."

"Yeah, I can see how it works. And the conversation you just had...it's a pretty handy way to communicate since everyone is already labeled with family titles. In the main no one would know you were exchanging information."

Thayne looked at him. "Yes, but it only works when you are speaking person-to-person. It's the long-distance communication that's been compromised, and the main one, too."

"You break it down into both area-speak, and then a common one across the Family as a whole. I assume for reasons just like this one?"

Thayne nodded. "This would make it the third time. Mother's enemy keeps us busy, and his men. He usually lets us know he's broken it at times like this, too, just when we are trying to do something important. We've learned how to deal with it, though."

Obi looked at him wide-eyed. "How's that?"

Thayne glanced at Obi. "We have new codes waiting to use. It's possible it's in place now, but Slim didn't know if the test run had been successful yet. That means it's gone out but not back in yet. We'll only start using it once everyone checks in. We're probably still waiting to hear back from everyone that went north. They're a little farther out, and a lot of them at that, and of course the lot of us haven't checked in yet. We'll have to do that before we get to the house or they can't start using it."

"It can keep track of every individual?" Obi was amazed.

Thayne nodded. "Else we don't know who we've lost."

"Does that happen often?"

"Sadly, yes," Thane said. "Especially at times like this." He sat quietly for a moment, then said, "Can you tell me what Slim really told us?"

"Well...," Obi said thinking back. "He said the rest of the Children I need to collect have already been moved to a safer location where there aren't any enemies around and they have guards to protect them, but they're worried and looking for us to arrive." Thayne nodded. "And, the river being compromised was the main communication line, with only local lines working as of his last knowledge." Thayne nodded again. "And he isn't the right one to ask whether or not my plans to deal with the flood and the ambushers worked, though obviously the ones I'm involved in haven't yet, so it's probably safe to assume they had to be scrapped."

"Mmm...no, I didn't ask about the flood. Just the ambushers."

"Ah, because you asked about 'traps'."

"Yes. I would have asked him more about what we could expect up ahead but he wouldn't answer the ones I thought he should at least have known about. It's one way to keep communication short. Shorter means less time for someone who shouldn't be listening to figure out what's going on."

"I understand," Obi nodded. That was common practice in the underworld too, as was coded speaking like this, so it hadn't been all that hard for him to pick up on. It was a lot easier to understand if you knew the underlying code - in this case, who the Family really was. "Has the enemy not picked up on the Family code, the person-to-person code?"

Thayne grinned at him. "Of course he has. It isn't that hard to understand, but he doesn't know who anyone other than the top name is. And there are lots of people who have mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, and grandfathers. So the information comes to him piecemeal and mixed with misinformation all the time. It's harder to sort through than the long-distance code. So he occasionally gets things he wanted to hear from the person-to-person stuff, but Mother has said to not worry about it too much. He's getting even more from his spies, so it's mostly useless to him by the time he gets it."

There was a sound from in front of them. Thayne answered it with another sound. A second sound came from in front of them. Thayne frowned, then made the same sound he'd made before Slim had dropped into the wagon with him. A young girl popped up with a question on her face. She jogged beside the wagon as they rolled along.

"Ah, hello, Little Bird," Thayne said. "That was really sloppy. Try again."

"Ah, sorry, Big Brother. It's just come out this morning," she pointed into her open mouth. There was a hole where a tooth should be. "I've been practicing, but it still won't come out right."

"Well, then it can't be helped, I suppose," Thayne relented. "But you'll have to say it then."

"Just keep going. Everything's still clear ahead."

"Thanks!"

She waved and disappeared.

"Can you teach it to me?"

"Probably not. Nor do you need to learn it, yet. It'll be better for you to learn the main line one first and get used to it. The branch lines are offshoots of the other main lines, so are like dialects. It's easier to learn them if you know the main line, and even easier if you know the old codes, which I _will_ teach you when you get high enough level. The higher ranks use them for emergency communications that are kept very brief, and usually one-way, since the enemy knows them."

Obi nodded. He'd still need a translator for long distance communication for a while, then. It was probably a very good thing Ilena had sent Thayne after him. The group he was bringing in wasn't willing to consider themselves authorized to tell him anything useful, though he suspected they would have done as the other two groups and at least told him when to go left or right or such.

"How is Mother?" he asked.

"Well, she was fine when I left her two mornings ago."

"She waited a whole day, huh?"

"Yes. I think she couldn't stand not having someone with her that first night. She kept waking up. I made sure she knew I was there." Obi was quiet for a moment. It wasn't unexpected. "But it's the news about Mistress Shirayuki you should like to know, I think."

"Eh? Mistress?"

"Yes, it happened after Mother sent me away, but it went out on the main branch and I heard it before you got to the waystation. She went to see Prince Zen off, but he surprised her and took her with him to the rousing send-off speech for the garrison soldiers. He asked her to give some last words, which were obviously unrehearsed, pure and exactly what the soldiers needed to hear, and then he kissed her on the stand in full view of everyone on the parade grounds and in the stands behind them."

"Ehhhh?! Did she faint on the spot?" Obi could just see it.

"Apparently not. Mister Mitsuhide and Miss Kiki managed to get her off the stage still walking. She was loopy though and missed Mother's room and went to the pharmacy instead. Mister Ryuu had to turn her around and walk her back."

Obi laughed. "I can imagine. ...Wait, that much detail can go out on the long distance network?"

Thayne looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Father, how would we ever know anything if we couldn't converse in detail?"

Obi took a while to digest that news. "That seems very...advanced."

Thayne looked back at the road in front of them and said, without much emotion, "It's the most advanced in the near continent, if not farther. That's why it galls that her enemy keeps breaking it. ...But I've got a suspicion Mother hasn't modified it too much beyond what he comprehends each time on purpose. Sometimes it feels like she's changing it just enough to be teaching the rest of us something...like the code we will end up using, the one he won't be able to break, is so difficult we need to be brought to it, or something like that."

Obi didn't know what to say to that. He knew it would only come to light when she wanted it to. Otherwise it was just speculation.

"Ah, there's another thing about Mistress Shirayuki. She's been sitting at Prince Zen's desk in the Rose office, apparently with his permission. Dane says that she's doing very well with what she can do, including fending off offended lords, though he and Tairn, acting as her assistants, are stepping in when it gets out of hand or overwhelming. Apparently Marcus has a pool going for how long it takes Mistress Shirayuki to realize what Prince Zen has done to her. Dane says she's still clueless and just going about doing her work as she normally would. Mother approves of what Prince Zen did and has offered to give, in addition to the pool take, a minor bonus to the person who comes the closest to guessing it. But it's only open to castle personnel." He looked up as he said it, and there were a few sighs and groans from behind them.

"Ah, that's too bad," one of the younger men, David, said. "I've been waiting for one of those to come down."

"You've got a dream, then?" Oren said.

"Yeah. But since we get to be at the new house, I figured there might be some good opportunities coming soon. I'll have to keep waiting, I guess."

"Good morning," Thayne said to them all, now that they were awake and had the door open so they could sit up. "I think we should be to the last set of Children soon, and if we're lucky, dinner will be with them. Otherwise it will be an after midnight snack at the 'new house', as you say."

"I'm hungry," the teenage boy said.

"You're always hungry," his mother said fondly.

"Well, he is a growing boy," Obi said mildly. "Will you explain about bonuses and dreams, while we've got the time and are having a lesson?"

The men in the back took that up and Thayne let them. They explained that Mother didn't usually pay in coin, she paid in the fulfillment of dreams. Whenever she introduced a new member into the household, she asked them to give her three dreams of theirs, a minor, a middling, and a major. When they did something of value for her, she would grant them a fulfillment of an equivalent value dream. Occasionally she would have fun 'bonus' fulfillments. This was a 'minor bonus' so the winner of the take of the new castle pool would get their minor dream fulfilled. Most of the time people did things for her because they wanted to, so most minor fulfillments were fun grantings like this. Middle and major fulfillments were usually reserved for the larger or important jobs. If someone did something for her that she hadn't asked for, but which she felt was deserving of reward, she might also grant one.

Thayne looked over to Obi. "Everyone who is coming to the house to stay is getting one of their major dreams fulfilled by it."

Obi was surprised. "Everyone? They wanted that badly to be there? ...I'm afraid I don't understand."

"No, I don't suppose you would just yet. Mmm... Anyone back there want to tell him which of your dreams is being fulfilled by it and all the details around it?"

There was silence for a while, then the teenage boy, Edward, spoke up. "I will. I'm still young enough that my dreams are new." Obi wondered at that language. "Mother found me at that house in the stable. I was trying to calm a new horse that had just come to us. No one else could go near him, but that was because I was the only one that understood it'd had a traumatic experience before it came to us. It had gotten loose and everyone else was standing at the front and back of the stable to prevent it from leaving, but they'd left me to go in after it and get a halter over its head, or at least backed into a stall and locked in."

"Mother walked up and asked what was going on, though I wasn't paying attention to that, then walked on into the stable. Our men called her back saying the horse was crazy and when she wouldn't go back, they called her crazy, too. They say her men just stood and watched and a quick bet was taken as to how fast she'd have the horse tamed. The first I knew she was there, she was behind me, leaning against one of the stalls, her arms crossed, as if she'd just come for a pleasant visit. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out."

"She calmly asked me what I thought was wrong with the horse. The men said that since my attention had been moved from the horse, it was then it lunged to bite me, but she looked away from me and at that horse and it stopped stock still. She kept her eyes on it, but asked me again what I thought was wrong. So I told her. She nodded her head and told me I'd missed one detail. When she told it to me, I knew what needed to be done. So I turned back around and did it. I was able to get the horse into its stall easily that time, and train it correctly within a week."

"She and Earl College were visiting for that whole week, so before she left she came by the stable again and watched me handing him off to its new rider. She called me over and said I had a natural aptitude for horses and asked what I wanted to do with my life. I'd been thinking about it since I'd talked to her before. I immediately told her I wanted to be able to handle horses the way she did. With a single look she tamed that horse. With a single understanding, she taught me to tame it as well, though it took me longer. I wanted to be able to do what she had done. She smiled at me and said she'd love to take me on as an apprentice, but I'd have to do some work first. I'd have to keep learning more and more about taking care of horses where I was, and to come when I was called for."

He stopped, finished with his story. Obi looked questioningly at Thayne. "That doesn't sound much different from the 'how I met Mother' stories I've already heard."

"Well, in this case, Edward is a 'natural talent'. Mother scouts them in all fields - you'll remember from Robert's story." Obi nodded. "So he hasn't done anything - yet - to earn it. In this case it's a dream awarded before the action, also like Robert. That is what Edward means by having new dreams. Those are the easiest to talk about, I suppose. For those of us who paid the price before receiving the reward, that's more difficult. Those of us who are awarded old dreams...well, those are pretty precious. ...Maybe someday I'll tell you mine, but not yet. Though, in truth, they're not much different from the stories you've already heard. After all, isn't it that all of us dreamed of being freed from our miserable circumstances? But the thing she's bringing most of us here for, that's another dream."

Obi leaned back, thinking. Ilena had never asked him what his dreams were. She was asking him to fulfil hers. But...she had already fulfilled several, or was fulfilling them. She was still alive, after all this time. She had protected him from his brother's rage, for many years. She was presenting to him the opportunity to remove his brother from his life, and with that remove his fear permanently. She was protecting the most important things to him - Master and Mistress and their path together. She had even tried to fulfill dreams he didn't know he had. She had presented herself as a perfect partner to him. She had given him a family, if he wanted it, and even further purpose for his life that would provide more strength to Master.

Ah, and even a man who would punch him unconscious, tease him mercilessly, and run with him, and watch over her for him. He wondered for a moment how she could not be jealous of Thayne. No, she was relying on Thayne, the same as he did when he had to leave her. It was the same. The same as Master and Mistress and Obi. But now it would be Master and Mistress and Obi and Ilena and Thayne - and of course Mister Mitsuhide and Miss Kiki. But somehow that felt lonely. Ah, had he been lonely? Even though he had them? It certainly wasn't lonely any more. Now it was very busy. But...when she wasn't there with him...that was a new loneliness. ...Or rather, a very old loneliness from a different point of view.

"Thayne...?"

"Mmm?"

"It isn't Mother's way to let people stay lonely, is it?"

"Not if she can help it. Poor Peter was one of the few exceptions, though he isn't any more. I'm sure that she feels much better about that now."

"If that's the case, who is it she's chosen to be Thayne's partner?"

Thayne froze in shock.

"Do you not know it yet?" Obi asked, rather gently.

A shudder went down Thayne and he almost wept. "Ah, Father," he finally said when he was under control again. "You see so deeply into the oddest things, and at the least expected times. Truly you are like Mother." Obi waited.

After a moment more, Thayne answered, "Mother has not told me yet if or when I may have a partner." To Obi, he did indeed sound lonely. "But for now, that's as it should be. Father only has need of one to follow him at this time. When it's the right time," he shuddered again and had to breath through it, "Mother will give to Father another." It took Thayne a long time to recover after that.


	30. The Lord of Tarc's Message

**CHAPTER 30 The Lord of Tarc's Message**

Thayne's head snapped up. "You lot, get back underneath. Stay hidden 'til we're at the house and I say you can get out. Father, you're my brother. You were born deformed. You can see and hear, but can't talk too good. Keep your face and head covered. Can you show a deformed hand?" Obi looked unsure, but nodded. "And work for a deformed leg and foot in your walk, too. Practice it while you're getting the straw back there where it needs to be. Don't move from your corner unless I tell you to." The door behind them clicked closed. "Keep down while you head back there. Ah, and the kids we're picking up, are they girl or boy?"

"Two girls, fifteen and eleven." Obi answered back quietly, then slipped over the high side of the wagon with barely a ripple showing over its edge. He shuffled around the wagon, pushing straw with his feet until he thought he had it.

"Peter! Stop being so restless back there! We're just about to the place I told you we were going to get some help at home. Settle down, now. They'll have to ride back there with you. You be good, now, hear? and leave them alone."

Obi shuffled to his corner and sat huddled in it. His face was beginning to sting and swell finally. He sighed. Maybe one benefit would be he wouldn't be quite so recognizable after all. He made sure the hood of his cloak was pulled far over his head, put his hand into a locked-finger deformed shape and held on to his cloak with that hand showing.

A few minutes later, Thayne pulled the wagon into the yard of a house with a large barn. There was quite a bit of activity going on at the place, for a country home. His eyes darted everywhere. It looked like this was the area central command. He shifted uncomfortably. It was too many people to expose Father to at a sensitive time like this. He'd thought it might be something like this, though.

The horses managed to get the wagon to stop mostly where he wanted it, but that was because they stopped by his leading them by rein, instead of suddenly on their own. A balding wiry man came out of the house to the call of one of the people in the yard and came up to him. Thayne climbed down from the wagon.

"Ox. Slim said you'd be stopping by." The man ran his hand through his remaining hair, looking frazzled.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry. He didn't say you were hosting this many guests, though, or I'd of waited."

"No, it's alright. He said you were asking after help again. I'd help me to have a few extra beds tonight."

"Yeah. I was hoping to get a couple of your girls to come help around the house. Ever since Eveline died, Peter and I just haven't been able to keep up. With his hand the way it is, he drops more dishes than he helps clean, and he can't sweep."

The balding man called to one of the lads standing nearby, "Go fetch Christie and Kate. Tell them to bring their things with them. I'm sending them with Ox for a while." The lad bobbed his head and ran off towards the house. "Ah, I've also got Mattie and Paul here. You know my wife's the area midwife...well Mattie wasn't doing too good, so Paul brought her over. She miscarried early this morning, but I haven't got a proper place for her to rest, and you've got a wagon. Could you put them up tonight, then take them on home tomorrow?"

Thayne looked around the busy yard. "Yeah. They can have my bed. It's the only one big enough for two. Peter doesn't mind sleeping next to the fireplace, so I'll take his bed. Ah," Thayne interrupted before the area captain could send another order, "Peter fell out of the wagon hard when we were unloading. Would your wife have some time to take a look at his face for me? It's swelling up pretty bad."

The captain gave Thayne a horrified look. He'd just been potentially told the equivalent that Father had been attacked and injured in a fight. "Certainly. Is he alright?"

Thayne hurried to reassure him. "Yes, yes, it's my fault. I'd placed a bale he wasn't aware of, and he tripped over it and tumbled out. I feel real bad about it."

The captain gave him a scathing look for being so careless as to let _Father_ get hurt, then sent another youth scurrying to fetch the couple and a medic. Thayne didn't let it bother him, but he was starting to wonder why he hadn't heard about the last man they were supposed to be picking up. "Ah, Fred, why's your place so busy tonight, but the woods so quiet? It's been almost spooking me. Am I going to be able to make it home? And Slim said his Grandpa wanted me to contact him as soon as possible. Should I try to stop by tonight?"

The captain, newly dubbed 'Fred', shook his head rapidly. "Don't you worry about Grandpa. Maybe you can think about that when you get home, but you should be as quiet tonight as the rest of the woods, I suspect, as you're headed back. You might run into a couple bully boys on your way home, but if you're polite, I think you'd make it okay. We've got strangers in the area and its spooked everyone, I'm afraid." He'd been looking closely at the wagon, and decided Thayne's ruse should be sufficient. Then he looked at Thayne with a serious expression on his face. "I've got a thing in the barn I'd like you to take a look at. It's one of those things only you can fix for me. I'd be obliged if you'd at least look at it while you're here and waiting."

Thayne nodded, and as he passed the spot where Obi was sitting in the wagon, he said, just loudly enough for Obi to hear, "Peter, I'll be right back. Just sit quietly and wait for me."

As Thayne followed Fred into the barn, he could see it was a medic station. A number of men and youths, and even a few women, were in various stages of being tended to. He was glad to see that the majority of injuries were relatively minor, though sufficient to have had them removed from battle for a time. He grabbed Fred's sleeve to pull him close so they could converse quietly. "The flood?"

Fred nodded. "That's going as expected. It's the rest that's not, and with the river down, we're not sure what to do about it but run quiet with our eyes and ears wide open."

Thayne nodded. "That's what I'd do, too. I'm blind, and confused, so we'll follow your lead."

Fred looked at him concerned. He'd hoped to hear the news from Thayne, apparently. "We'd like some direction, if possible."

Thayne considered it. "Is it that there isn't anything to spring the traps?" Fred nodded. "How many traps are there?"

"One on the main road, and you're going to have to go through it, but looking like that, I think they'll just inspect it. If they pull out your passengers, they'll trigger the defence, so you can just hide under the wagon 'til it's over like good locals. ...There was another on the secondary road, but we took care of that one some time back."

It was Thayne's turn to look concerned. The logging road had been compromised early on. He'd been afraid of that. Fred turned and led him further into the barn to a place that was quiet. There was a stall there with two obviously armed men sitting outside it. Fred stopped a bit of a distance away from it, then nodding his head at it, he said, "Take a look." Thayne walked stealthily up to the stall. The two guards looked at him, but let him pass silently.

Looking into the stall, Thayne saw a man lying on the straw, he was bound, hand and foot, and gagged. That was unusual. He must have been trying to make noise to give away his position. The man felt his presence and lifted his head to look up at him. Thayne looked at him stonily for a moment longer, then turned and went back to Fred. They went back to the hospital area before speaking quietly again.

Thayne's eyes burned. "Get him to the castle. Alive."

"Not Grandfather?" Fred was surprised.

"That one is Mother's jurisdiction." His words were cold and hard. "He can sit there in the dark until she can see him proper herself."

Fred nodded. "We'll be sure he's delivered properly."

They could see Thayne's passengers arriving at the wagon. As they headed out of the barn, Thayne said, "Tell Grandfather what you've found, but do it with a mouth. Keep it private. He likely needs to know tomorrow." Fred nodded. He'd see a messenger was sent into the castle city to talk directly with Grandfather.

Thayne put a mild expression back on his face to show his guests. "Hello, I'm glad you young ladies can come help me in my house. Peter and I are just not enough to take the place of my Eveline. I hope you can help us with the housework, and maybe a little cooking, too. I'm only passable, I'm afraid. You two can have the attic room." Thayne was unlatching the back wall of the wagon as he spoke. "With Peter's leg as it is, he can't get up ladders, and because of the fall I took last year that had me out cold for three days, I only go up the to the barn loft carefully when I have to. You should feel safe enough there. Peter's going to be more scared of you for the first while than you are of him. It would be good for me to introduce you before we get going so he's calm on the trip home. He wouldn't do anything but make noise, but Fred says we should try to keep quiet."

Thayne looked over at the group. The medic had arrived as well. "If it's okay, I'd like to have his face tended to first." The others nodded, and Thayne pointed to a spot just outside the wagon, indicating to the medic to wait there. "I'll go tell him you're coming so he'll stay calm."

Thayne climbed into the wagon and walked over to Obi. He crouched down next to him and very quietly said, "The last man is a traitor to the Family. I'm having him sent to the castle to rot in the dungeon until Mother can deal with him herself."

Obi's eyes glittered. "Is that going to be long enough?"

"Probably not. But Doctor Elliot can have as much fun with him as he wants, as far as I'm concerned." Then more loudly he said, "It's okay Peter, Fred's wife will be gentle. She's going to make that feel better, okay? I'm going to let her come help you now." He turned slightly and waved the medic over. He shifted back out of the way, but stood so that Obi couldn't be seen from outside the wagon. The medic was also careful to not move the hood too much out of her way, keeping his hair covered as much as possible. She was quick with practice, and soon had Obi's face poulticed and bandaged.

"That feels much better, thank you," he told her quietly as she put away her tools.

She bobbed her head. "Be well, Father." Then she was hurrying out the back of the wagon to return to her duties in the barn.

Thayne bent down next to Obi again. "They want to know what to do about the enemies in the woods. The flood's going as planned, but there's been nothing to trigger the traps."

"Whatever the Family wants, then. We don't need captives from them. The ones from the flood will be sufficient. We don't want strays left, either."

Thayne adjusted the hood over Obi's face so it could be seen by someone standing just next to him. "Peter, Fred's let us have two of his girls to come help us. You're to be nice to them, okay?" Thayne waved the girls in. They glanced at their parents a little worried, but they nodded and the girls climbed in and walked shyly over to Thayne and Obi. Thayne kept between the rest of the world and Obi, but motioned for the girls to come around where they could meet Obi. "Peter, this is Christie."

They looked at each other, then the teen nodded. "Hello, Peter," she said. "That looks painful, but I'll bet the poultice feels good, doesn't it?" Thayne was proud of her. She'd played her part very well. Obi nodded at her and Thayne smiled.

"This is Kate." Thayne introduced the younger sister.

Kate nodded and said a shy, "Hello."

Obi tried to smile at her, but winced in pain. He glared at Thayne. "I'm sorry," Thayne said contritely. Then he turned and pointed to the opposite corner at the other end of the wagon. "You girls can sit over there. That way he'll sit quiet while we're on the road. You"ll need to also, okay?" They nodded and went to sit down next to their bag that had been put in by Fred.

"Peter, we're also taking Mattie and Paul to our house for the night. They're going to stay in my bed. Mattie's baby died so she needs a comfortable place to stay tonight. We'll take them home tomorrow, okay? Do you remember them?"

Obi shook his head, playing his part. Thayne looked over his shoulder. "You should come get reintroduced, too, I think. Just so he isn't worried."

The couple climbed into the wagon, Paul helping Mattie solicitously, and her moving slowly and carefully, also playing their parts. They walked back to the pair of men. Paul crouched down in front of Obi and looked at him. "Well, that is a bad bruise," he said kindly, then more quietly, "I'm Josh Drexel."

Obi said quietly, "Josh Drexel?"

Josh answered, "I am waiting to hear the words of Father."

Obi responded, "Mother has sent me for you. ...And I'm sorry it's taken so long."

Josh shook his head and answered as he pulled his wife closer to him, "Complications were expected this time. Peter, this is my wife Mattie. You came to visit us last fall, do you remember? Thank you for letting us stay at your house tonight."

Mattie nodded at Obi. "Hello, Peter. It's good to see you again."

Obi nodded back.

"If you two will go sit with the girls, please, we need to get moving. I'm sure you're very tired, Mattie. We'll be to my house soon, I should think," Thayne instructed, then to Obi he said, "I know you're going to want to talk to them, but don't. We have to go through a trap." Then, as he headed to hop out and close up the back of the wagon, he said just loudly enough for the passengers to hear, "If we set off the trap, sit still. If they make you come out, the defenders will attack. Hide under the wagon and keep playing your parts." He carefully closed and latched the back door of the wagon.

Turning to Fred, he shook his hand and thanked him, then very quietly passed on Obi's instructions regarding the enemy. Fred's eyes lit up. "We'll clean out the area starting immediately, then. Maybe you won't have to be bothered to stop."

"That'd be nice. We're already behind schedule." Thayne turned and walked up to the front. The horses shook their traces to jangling. "One last pull," he told them, and they moved out. He kept a careful eye on everyone and their movements in the yard as he pulled out. He has happy to be finally out of the bustle and have his master away from the multitude of eyes. It was indeed more difficult to live the practice than to discuss the theory and possibilities. Everyone had gotten into their parts well, but still... He sincerely hoped they wouldn't be stopped on the way.

In the end, they made it to the guard station unhindered, but he could hear the struggle going on in the trees around him as they passed the ambush location, and the horses shook their heads nervously as they passed through. He did have to pause at the guard station. There, guards were blocking the road. He pulled the horses to a stop early to give them room to get the wagon stopped.

"Brad. James. Tom." He nodded to them soberly. "It's good to see you again. Will his horse be enough to get us in?" He pointed to Obi's horse in its place to his left.

Brad walked up to the horse and looked him over, then shook his head. Thayne slid over. "Then come up here and look over."

Brad, watching Thayne cautiously - so that Thayne left his hands carefully in front of him, loosely holding the reins - climbed up on the seat next to him and looked over. Thayne heard Obi shift so the guard could see his face.

When Brad had jumped back down, he said, "It's that bad, was it?"

Thayne shook his head. "It looks a lot worse than it is. Everything but his face and one casualty is fine. The captain will explain it later. Do you know if the fighting up ahead is done?"

Brad shook his head. "You should be able to get to the barn and house just fine, but we haven't heard anything recent."

Thayne paused, then nodded. "Okay." He got the horses moving again and the other guards moved out of their way.

Once he was out of earshot of the guards, he quietly told everyone to shift so the trap door could be opened. "We aren't really interested in the general soldiery knowing about these wagons, Father, but you can tell Master Zen in your report. I should've had them come out before we got that far. That's my error."

"No," Obi answered just loud enough Thayne could hear. "That was better than putting everyone at risk by having them come out too soon. And it would be still better to have them sit until we're in the barn. I know you're thinking the more blades available the better, but they can likely be more effective if they come out the trap door. They won't be trapped in here and they'll have the element of surprise."

"Alright," agreed Thayne. They were quiet until they arrived at the barn. As he went ahead and pulled right on into it, Peter came running up and grabbed the halters of the horses.

"Thayne!" He was also quiet. "And this is Father's horse!" It was nuzzling his pocket, looking for the promised treat. "Is this them?"

Thayne nodded, feeling all of a sudden very weary. "The horses were good sports. See that they're well fed and watered, and I promised them treats. Then saddle them for me. The gear is underneath me." He heard the trap door open as he stood to open the space he'd been sitting on.

The first man out went around to the back and unlatched the back of the wagon, opening it for the topside passengers. The remaining people dropping from the hidden compartment came around to Thayne and collected their bags. He handed down the heavy saddles to the other men, then pulled out the last of the things and closed it up. He hopped down and made sure the last one out had latched the trap door again.

He nodded to Peter, who began the difficult process of getting the horses to put the wagon where he wanted it, since they had no idea what he wanted from them. Edward saw the trouble and instead of following Thayne into the house, he turned back. "I'll stay and help," he said.

Obi nodded. "Peter, that's Edward. See he's brought into the house safely when you're done."

"Yes, Father," Peter said.

Obi and the rest ghosted across the space between the barn and house. The faint sounds of battle could be heard occasionally, but it wasn't the full blown sounds that had likely been heard when the flood had begun. If all was going well, it should be nearing completion. They went to the closest door, Obi first. Thayne brought up the rear. Obi poked his head in and said, "It's me, can we come in?" A sword clicked back into its sheath, and the door was pulled open. He recognized the face. That was good enough.

Obi slipped in, then counted his followers until they were all in. He turned to the guard. "Peter's going to be bringing the last one in after they get the horses seen to. He's about the same age as Peter, but he's had more to eat. Name's Edward."

The guard nodded. "Take them to the dining hall. Bill's waiting there for them."

Thayne turned and led the group onward. Betty joined him and asked how many rooms would be needed. "Three singles, a double for now, and a family foursome." She flitted off saying she would come get them when they were prepared.

"Baths?" asked Mattie. Thayne grinned at her and nodded. She sighed in relief.

The dining hall was the first bright lighting they'd had all evening, and they stood blinking a bit when they entered. There was food and places set waiting for them on the table. It wasn't long before everyone was tucking in, including Obi and Thayne. Dinner had been a long time coming. Edward entered when they were about half done eating and caught up with them quickly, then passed them as he started in on seconds while the rest were starting to settle into digesting.

Obi stood up and walked around the tables to stand in front of them. Bill, who'd already been introduced, stood nearby. "I'm glad you've all made it here safely. You should be able to rest now, but keep watch until the all clear is given. Bill and the rest of the family will take care of you. I'm going to let him give my little speech, since I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. But there is one new item only I can pass on. Bill, if you'll pass it on to everyone else?" Bill nodded.

"Mother was caught in the landslide. Her hip was crushed by it. She's recovering in safety. A little over a week ago, Doctor Elliot performed an experimental surgery on it to repair the tendon, in the hopes that she would be able to walk again." He gave the summary quickly to catch them up. "As of now, she's recovering well, the second graft seems to have taken, and we have signs that the tendon and muscle are working together correctly. Because the bone also needs to heal again, we won't know for another five weeks if it's been truly sufficient, but it looks promising." Bill looked pleased with the positive report.

"She's been made Director of Intelligence to Prince Zen, just for your information." He frowned and looked at Thayne. "Was there anything else?" Thayne shook his head, not thinking of anything either. "We expect about another five weeks or so to the Lord's Court. Once the sentencing has been completed, you're free to come and go. We'll let you know when that is. Until then, stay put and follow the house rules Bill will explain to you next."

The dining room door flung open, and a dirty disheveled Foster rushed in, followed by Captain Garen, not looking much better. "Father! Good, you haven't left yet."

Obi looked at them, his good eyebrow raised. "Both of you? That means the battle's over, then?"

They pulled up short, staring at his face. It looked like they weren't sure which questions to ask first. "Your son decided I needed a sudden, forced nap." He said coolly to Foster.

Foster looked darkly at Thayne, who looked mildly back at him. Foster shook his head, "While I'm sure it isn't pleasant, he out-ranks me, Father. If he decided it was necessary, then it probably was."

Obi snorted, affronted. "Then who do I appeal to?"

"Ah, given where you're located, to Mother."

"I'll be sure to." He looked at Captain Garen. "Is there anything these folks need to know right now?"

The captain looked around the table at the newcomers, then shook his head. "We've pushed them out of the valley and are holding the boundary. The outside family is handling clean-up now. It would be helpful if we could count on some of you to take a patrol shift in the early morning so the fighters can get some sleep."

"Actually, we came by wagon," one of the men at the table said, "and got some sleep on the way. We could take an earlier shift."

Foster and the captain looked at each other. "We need to talk to Father, but we could take you back out with us. After you've seen your rooms, if you want to help earlier than the morning shift, meet us back here."

Obi started to move towards the door. Thayne joined him, and the four retired to the office. On the way, Obi sighed. "It would be awfully nice if this place came with drinks. I could use one, or many." Foster slipped away and rejoined them after they had settled in the office bringing alcohol and four glasses with him.

This time Obi took the head seat among the comfortable lounging part of the room. Thayne gratefully slumped down into the seat to his right, the second's chair, and rubbed his head. He was wishing he could talk his master into taking another four hour nap, but he knew it was worthless to try. Maybe he could be the first to sleep in the saddle on the way. He took the drink his father handed him with gratitude. "It's good to see you again, Da."

"Same here, Thayne. I thought it wouldn't be for a while."

Obi slightly grimaced, trying to not hurt his face while he did it, as he took the drained cup from his lips and held it out for more. "It wasn't supposed to be.

Foster looked at him. Thayne smiled. "It's okay, Da. He doesn't get drunk. You remember." Foster did remember that Earl College had never once gotten drunk at the hunting lodge, and the Baron had had to ban drinking games with him, and overspend on alcohol, then complain loudly after the Earl had left. He poured Obi more. This time Obi only drank half the glass at once.

"I'll start, then," Obi said. "The trip out went as expected. I sent out my decoy, continuing on towards the house the first two had come from, and we got started back. About four hours into it, the enemy showed up behind us, saw us, and started heading towards us at a fast clip. We panicked and ran. They never did catch up to us, but they also wouldn't let us rest. We were afraid to take them to the way-station, so we bypassed it. That put us in town too soon. I sent the Children I'd picked up already on around to the meetup point, but they came back and met me by the well before I could meet up with my contact. They said the meetup point was being watched."

Obi shook his head. "All we could do was wait together by the well, though we took up different stations. They tailed me to the inn, then when the Children I met came out, they interrupted the pick up and let the Family in town know they needed a new escape route. But the Children were being watched, so it gave the first set away, too."

Foster drew in a sharp breath and Thayne sat up straight. "The enemy knew who the Children in that house were?"

Obi nodded. "I tested all four of them before we continued on too far, but we were being surrounded quickly by unfriendlies and the town Children wanted to move us out. They did bring into the network some who could test them by Family means, and they were all vouched for, but I think you need to watch them for a while. I wouldn't recommend using any of them for guard duty for a while. Use the excuse that because they haven't given their testimony and been integrated yet, they aren't free to wander around and help much yet."

Obi continued, "We got on the road, and again they were quickly at our heels. But this time, since we were doubled up and still on the original horses, we weren't going far or fast. We had to stop at the next waystation. When I turned off the main road, they slowed down, then turned away." Obi shook his head. "I knew then they knew everything, but there wasn't anything to do about it but keep going and see what they wanted. I made everyone sleep, but I didn't. If one was a traitor, I wanted to be awake to see who it was. If they were going to ambush us when sleeping, I wanted to be able to give warning. Neither happened and we got back on the horses four and a half hours later and got going again. An hour out and we had a fresh batch behind us, making sure we kept moving east." Obi looked disgusted. "I like to run, I hate to be pushed."

"I was glad to see Thayne when we rode into the last way-station. I was hoping he'd have an explanation. I wasn't thrilled at all to be knocked out so rudely." He was back to cold again.

Thayne took a breath. "Father, would you have gone willingly into the safety of the place you woke up in?" Obi stared at him coldly. "My thinking was that you wouldn't, but would argue to either sit next to me or in the back. Until I understood what had happened, I couldn't afford to let you be exposed, or target practice at the bottom of a barrel. My responsibility is to keep you alive. That was the best path I could see at the time to be sure I was carrying out my duty." Thayne stood, setting his glass down. He bowed to Obi. "I'm sorry for doing an outrageous thing to Master Obi. I will accept responsibility."

"Then you will explain to Master when we arrive what it is you've done. We'll see if he'll allow you to remain," Obi's voice was still cool, but was tinged with less anger. Thayne blanched, but it was his responsibility. He stood upright again and sat back down. The air in the room remained a little cool as well. "Captain Garen, please summarize what's happened here."

The captain explained that about an hour after noon their positions had been simultaneously attacked from three main locations around the rim, but there hadn't been any attack from along the main road. They figured that was being watched for Obi's group to come in on, but they had no idea why the attack came at that time. There had been several waves come. The second wave had come right after the dinner hour. The soldiers positioned along the logging trail had come and found him after the second wave saying that the second wave had attacked the Children waiting to be picked up at that path. They had helped to defend them, but because Obi hadn't come yet, they couldn't be brought in, so the outside Children had taken them elsewhere saying they would help them meet up with Father. One of the Children had been angry and demanded to be taken to the safe house immediately, saying he didn't need to see Father, he already had. The outside Children had quieted him and taken him with them.

"We're one person short because he's a Family traitor. I saw it with my own eyes," Thayne said stonily. Foster was very troubled at this news.

Captain Garen nodded. "It felt that way to me, just from their description. Off. Not like what one of Mother's Children would do."

"Grandfather had mentioned that, unlike the other four to pick up, some in the last group were ready to come without seeing me. I wonder if he already understood? ...Their first attack came as soon as they received word Master had left the castle," Obi said thoughtfully. "Perhaps the second was because they'd lost us and couldn't push us into the hollow any more, so they came to push at least that one in." The others nodded. That sounded feasible. "And the third…-"

"That was probably the order to let the Children clean out the woods." Thayne supplied. He told his story from the beginning, too. "I knew the horses were a sign of the group to the enemy. I figured the way-station would have one of the modified wagons, so I decided if I could convince the two horses we needed to pull it, and Father to take a nap, it would mask our progress. I brought the wagon to the area using the local routes I'd memorized the afternoon before, rather than take the main road. I wasn't able to get very much information when we got to the area, just get the line on where to go for the pick up. They did confirm my guess that the main line communication has been breached. Local lines seem to still be intact." Foster shook his head. That was always a low blow to the Family for a while, and a disadvantage to Mother.

"We were taken to local central, which I'd guessed we would be. They showed me the last Child to confirm what he was and get orders on what to do about him. They also wanted to know what to do about the enemies still hanging around the woods. Father gave them permission to clean them out. We collected the rest and headed for here. By the time we reached the main road ambush, the outside Family was already taking them out, so we managed to get here cleanly."

" ...Captain Garen, if the outside Family asks for assistance in taking the traitor to the castle, will you help? He needs to be directly questioned by Mother herself. He can wait for her in the worst cell there. If we all forget about him for a year, that won't bother me, though she'll probably want his information before then. But he can't die or escape before she knows what he knows." Thayne looked soberly at Foster, then Obi. "He's from out of country."

Obi sat up straight and stared at Thayne. "Which one?"

"He's marked like Miss Leah."

Obi thought about that. He wasn't Master to understand everything, but he did know enough. "He's a roundabout spy then?"

Thayne nodded. Obi thumped back into his seat. "Why bother? Doesn't he know she knows it's him either way?"

Thayne shrugged. "He's probably telling her something like where the next push is going to come from after this one. Like I told you about the main communication line breaches - he sends messages to her this way, "

Obi looked up at Thayne slowly his eyes going very dark. "He sends her messages?"

Thayne nodded, very glad Obi hadn't looked at him like that after he'd hit him. "She's said it this way: 'He watches to see what I'll do, and then he pokes his finger into my cup to create ripples to show me he can still affect what I do. He is both laughing at me, and testing me, to see if I'm strong enough'."

Obi held himself very still. "What will happen when she's strong enough?"

"We assume he'll come himself."

Obi's eyes flashed. He didn't move for a while longer, however, except to grip the arm of his chair very tightly. When he relaxed, though he didn't very much, he downed the rest of his drink and stood. "It's time to go. Help them get that spy to the castle. Master will also want to hear what he has to say, when he returns. Send the word that he's to spill everything he knows. Both Mother and Master get the report, with a copy coming to me. If any of the others we brought in today are traitors, they get the same treatment. If you can't figure it out, I'll bring Mother before we let anyone go. She knows all her Children." He didn't see the shocked expressions on their faces as he was already walking to the door. Thayne had to hurry and jump up to join him, almost forgetting in his shock he was supposed to be leaving also. Father would actually bring Mother out.

-o-o-o-

Two horses sped up the Castle Road to the North Road then westward. They stopped at the easternmost way-station to sleep, but they didn't trade horses. The five hours was sufficient for man and beast who loved to run. They ran the rest of that day and into the night. They stopped for a late dinner, then turned and ran northward along the road that led into the mountains where the hiding holes of Earl College were located. They had run until nearly midnight, when one of the riders reached out and grabbed the reins of the other's horse and slowed them both.

Thayne motioned for silence, then he took the lead, at a somewhat slower run. He listened to the noises around them carefully. He took the next left. When they reached the next crossroads, he stopped them, listened to the near silence there, then took Obi off the road and into the woods until they were hidden, but could still see the road. He carefully pulled his sword from its sheath. Obi followed suit. It wasn't too long before they heard hooves, first one set, then behind it multiple, as if three or four sets.

Thayne whispered almost noiselessly, "Protect the one." Obi nodded. They watched as a single rider sped past them, then four in hot pursuit. They crashed out of the woods and took off after the four. Three of them turned to stand against them. Obi took out one with his throwing daggers, then the two were on them. At the clash of sword on sword, the lone rider out front swung his horse around and clashed with the remaining horseman coming up behind him. It didn't take long for Obi to figure out the opponent he was fighting was a Little Death user. He hissed, striking even harder. He hated that drug, and now had a double personal vendetta against it.

He pulled his sword out of the neck of his opponent and turned to see if Thayne was okay. He was also pulling his sword out of his dead opponent. He double checked to make sure the third enemy was dead and saw the back end of the dagger sticking out of his eye. That was pretty final. They turned and looked in the direction the lone rider had been running. He was coming up to them. Obi was a bit surprised he hadn't kept going.

"Thank you." The man, who could not be seen clearly in the dark, had an interesting accent Obi hadn't heard before. "Sir Obi, I am your guide for the rest of your stay in these mountains."

Obi, wondering how the man could see him well enough to recognize him, cleaned off his sword and put it away, but didn't bind it. Since Thayne had led them here, the news of his arrival in the mountains was probably known to the whole Family by now. Except...he hadn't been addressed as a Family member. "Is it common to pick up stray enemies on the way?"

"Of course. The battle in the mountains has just begun, and has not reached the houses yet, even."

"Good. I would like to get to the front before it does, but speaking to the Regent must come first."

"Of course." The man led them back the way he had come, going at a pace Obi found completely acceptable - fast.

The breath of dawn was on the wind as they came up to the edge of a protected valley and looked over an encampment. They'd had to fight off two more small enemy patrols, and ran from another three that were too large to fight, though they'd seemed to get distracted before too long with some other foe behind them. They had also passed several other encampments. Obi knew from his meeting with Zen that he had split up the soldiers so that his own encampment would be hidden in the confusion. He secretly hoped he hadn't given it away by coming straight here, but that had been his master's orders.

The encampments were also to make it look like they anticipated a long campaign, but really, they were full of token personnel. The main part of the fighting force was actually already much farther up the mountain and moving like raiders. The goal was to whittle down all the surrounding forces, hedging in the houses so that no one could escape, then they would attack the houses at once. The reports were supposed to be in when he got there as to which house had which Earl College. Those reports would be from the men who had been watching the houses for several weeks now.

They left their horses with the horsemen and walked to the main tent, Obi in front. The encampment was beginning to stir though the eastern sky was only just beginning to lighten. When they entered the main tent, it was well lit and Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki were already breakfasting. Obi walked up to kneel before Zen. He felt the other two who were behind him fall behind a respectful distance and stand at attention.

"Here you are Obi." Zen paused, then said, "Lift your head."

Obi paused, then did as he was ordered, knowing what was coming next.

"Obi...you weren't supposed to get involved."

"I didn't," he said simply.

"Explain, then," Zen said, slightly impatiently.

Obi stood, turning ninety degrees and slightly to the side so that his escorts were in Zen's view. His formal report was going to have to wait. "No. That's Thayne's responsibility." His words were cool. Zen raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Thayne. His eyes caught sight of the third man and he stared at him a moment, then continued on to Thayne.

Thayne took a step forward and bowed to Zen. "I'm sorry, Regent. In order to prevent potential harm to Master Obi's life, I made the outrageous decision to knock him out and force him into a small dark space without his permission. However, I also gave the order that as soon as he was aware again, he could be released from that same small dark space, and an alternate protection determined so that his sanity might be preserved. The fault of his injury is mine."

Zen considered Thayne a moment. "And why would you consider it necessary to force your master into such protection without his permission?"

Thane straightened up. "Because Earl College, the elder's, favorite punishment of Master Obi was to lock him up in a coffin for three days at a time. It was, on average, repeated every three weeks. His brother, the current Earl College, remanded the sentence to two days, and only when he was angry with his brother, Master Obi."

Even Mitsuhide and Kiki blanched. "Was this common practice for the College family?" Zen asked horrified.

"Yes," Thayne answered. Obi was looking rather dark at having to be reminded. "Mistress Ilena was locked up for seven months straight after Master Obi ran away. That was the most severe case known. Most of the staff were only locked up in such manner overnight."

"I thought they were punished with beatings?" Zen said, even more horrified.

"They were. When the beatings were done, they were taken to the coffin room. On occasion, they were thereafter buried in those same coffins in the morning, the combination having been too overwhelming."

"How did Ilena not die?"

"Earl College ordered her fed once per day. He was not particularly interested in her death. Only in punishing Master Obi vicariously. Overcoming the madness was her own strength."

Zen looked over at Obi. He looked like he was about to pass out. Zen rose out of his chair, but Thayne reached Obi first. He carefully helped him sit down. "She never said…," Obi moaned faintly, his hands weakly in his lap.

"I'm sorry, Master Obi," Thayne said. "I didn't know."

Obi put his head in his hands. Thayne kept his hand on Obi's shoulder.

"This is why they can't sleep in the castle, or be in enclosed spaces?" Mitsuhide asked.

"Yes," Thayne answered. "I was very surprised they hadn't gone mad in the first room you had them in at the castle, when I looked in to see it, though it soon became apparent to me that it was because they had stayed together. Those who have lived through the College house punishment have said that if multiple of them were in the coffin room at once, they could communicate with each other and it staved off the madness."

Zen's eyes were wide. He'd had no idea, though he knew Obi had mentioned that the small rooms might be problematic. "Obi, why didn't you say?"

Obi shook his head. "It isn't Master's fault. And even a small room is better than a coffin. It's only when falling asleep or waking up that it's most difficult, in the inbetween time. And Master let me be with her during those times. ...But I didn't know it was that difficult for her. Before I left, she had been careful to not be punished, though the elder Earl College had punished her a few times overnight before banishing her from the main house."

Thayne rose to finish his report. "Master Obi had told me that somehow the enemy knew his path, and was hounding his heels to keep him moving forward quickly. The enemy knew its prey because they were on horseback. I changed the plan with only a very few knowing, so that we might evade the enemy, and had all of them, Master Obi included, hide in the bottom of a wagon, which I drove to the safe house. Knowing he wouldn't willingly go into such a place, and not wanting him to be exposed by having to sit next to me, and the fact that he hadn't slept in over two days, I determined that I shouldn't allow him the opportunity to argue with me, and in a surprise move, I knocked him out. He was sufficiently tired that he didn't have time to react to my attack. He was able to sleep nicely for nearly eight hours before he woke and panicked, at which time he was allowed to immediately come out of the hiding place and sit, covered, where he wouldn't be seen unless the wagon was searched. We were fortunate that the outside Family was able to remove the threat of the last ambush before we arrived at that location, and we arrived without further incident at the safe house, where I allowed them to escape from the wagon."

Zen blinked. That had had a lot of important information in it. "The enemy knew the plan?"

"Yes."

"And Obi hadn't slept in two days? Long enough to get so tired he couldn't react to a blow?"

"Yes."

"And you only kept him in that place for as long as he was asleep?"

"Yes."

"And you went all the way to the safe house?"

"Yes. ...The wagon was ours only on loan and could only go by way of the main road. Because the Children needed to be delivered safely, I chose to take us all directly to the house. We've come directly from there."

"I see. ...Why did the enemy know the plan?" This was Thayne's to answer to as well. That had been a breach of the Family.

"Mother's enemy has broken the code twice before, though it's difficult, and we were unaware there were spies among us, apparently. I can't answer it fully as I haven't yet been able to communicate with Grandfather myself."

Zen motioned to Obi. Thayne went back to stand by their guide. Obi shivered one last time and stood at his usual relaxed attention. He gave the full report, from the time he left the castle until their arrival at the encampment. He included all the reports he had received at Falcon's Hollow. Part-way through the report, Zen returned to his chair and finished eating his meal, listening closely. When Obi was done, he motioned for Kiki to take the food cart over to the three men. "Eat," he ordered them. While they ate, he put his thoughts together and narrowed down his questions.

"So, they did unexpected things?" Zen mused.

"Yes." Obi answered

Zen looked at Mitsuhide and Kiki. "They've done other unexpected things here as well." He looked back at the three men in front of him. "Let me ask a question not really related to your report." Obi looked at Zen curiously. "How is it that you keep appearing with new members of your family surrounding you? Is your guide another cousin?"

Obi whipped around and stared at his guide. It was the man from the Black Cat. The one who Thayne had told him to make note of. That looked like he could be a prince. That looked like Ilena and him, with his long black hair now bound for fighting. He smiled at Obi and bowed formally. In his soft, foreign accent he said, "Sir Obi, Regent Zen, I am sent by Princess Ilena to follow Sir Obi at the side of Mister Thayne until the battle is over and you arrive safely at Wilant City again. I apologize - she has required that I ask you to name me for the duration of the time I am here to assist you. I am a native of Selicia, but I am not related to Sir Obi or to Princess Ilena."

Everyone in the room sat stunned.

"He's palace trained, at least," Kiki seemed to recovered first.

"If he knows who she is, he's part of the Immediate Family," Obi was next to find something to say. He itched to know who. That particular comment made Zen feel much better.

"...But we aren't allowed to know who, and he's from Selicia," Mitsuhide was always the one who pointed out the potential drawbacks.

Zen very graciously said, "I'm grateful that Ilena has asked for someone she thinks highly of to stand to protect the things most important to her at this important time, and that you've come. We look forward to working with you. Here, in my councils, please refer to me as Zen. Also, please do not refer to Ilena in that manner to any other persons. Her title is still secret within Clarines in order to protect her. I would prefer to call you by a name you approve of. Is there one you can recommend?"

"While I am not of any royal line of Selicia, I would be pleased if you would call me Grail."

Zen and Obi recognized the name. "Is there a particular reason you would chose the name of one of her cousins if you are not related?" Zen asked.

"Mistress Ilena's first personal order to me was to see his death was avenged."

"... Ah, I see. Thank you for telling me."

The newly dubbed Grail bowed slightly. "It is my pleasure to serve."

He'd very neatly placed himself as a highly favored personal servant to the young Princess Ilena, come from Selicia. And supported his own claim with evidence they could corroborate themselves immediately. Zen and Obi were both impressed.

Zen turned to Kiki. "The generals will be here soon. Please tell Obi and his men what's gone on here while Mitsuhide and I prepare."

Zen and Mitsuhide turned to the maps and conversed quietly while Kiki told Obi, Thayne, and Grail what had happened in the north over the past two days. They had, of course, marched and arrived and set up encampments. This was the first morning of serious consideration for the castle group. The reports they had received from this past evening and into the night had been as unexpected as what had happened to Obi. The main news, received late in the night, was related to the houses that were current allies of the Earl, the ones the Children had been retrieved from by Obi.

Separate military groups had been sent to arrest the lords of those houses. When they arrived, they'd found the houses and grounds burning, the members of the households dead. No survivors had been found by the time the messengers had been sent, though searchers had been looking. Farmor was also burning, but there were no persons on the grounds at all, living or dead. The soldiers were combing the lands around the households for signs of the persons who had caused the massacres.

Obi looked at Thayne. "I wonder if the ones who did that were the ones who also hounded my heels."

Kiki nodded. "I was wondering that also."

Obi frowned. "It would not be good to have the dogs running loose in northern Wilant. Should we clean them up also?"

Kiki shrugged. "Zen will decide. We have also received the reports from the houses up here. There are a sufficient number of men who serve Earl College, perhaps increased by members of the other houses, that all of the houses are of necessity occupied, but we've found it odd that the report says that both Earl College and the uncle are together at the farthest north house. Ilena had expected them to be in separate houses. Zen feels that if they are together, either Earl College needs the restraint of the uncle, or the uncle is indeed planning on turning against him at the last minute and offering him as a peace offering...or both. He's already sent word to clean out the southern houses and close the noose on the north house so it's prepared for his arrival."

"Prince Zen will go himself?" Grail was astonished.

Kiki nodded. "That is his way. We'll all go with him."

"Has a fourth location been found yet?" Obi asked.

Kiki shook her head. "Many of the searchers have returned with their reports already. There is a way through the mountains to Tarc, but the way to Selicia is impassible from this location, unless they should go back south to the North Road and around the mountains in this area. The way to Tarc is being watched very carefully, as it is possible the uncle, at least, would try to escape in that direction."

Obi turned to look at Thayne and Grail. "Is that pass being watched by the Children of Mother?"

Grail nodded. "It has been for a very long time. There has not yet been a report of anyone going north on it."

Obi nodded. "I think, if anyone goes north along it while we're hunting, or even after, a capture would be prefered, but we should confirm with Master."

"That's preferable," Zen's voice came from the table. "Spies would be just as useful as the uncle or Earl."

Grail bowed his head slightly. "I will see the request is sent."

Thayne asked, "Is the communication network here in the north still integral?"

"The battle network is, yes." Grail answered him and Thayne seemed content enough.

"Come see this, Obi," Zen said. The four walked over to the map table. "I saw this last night as I was falling asleep." He had the map of Wilant open on the table, on top of the other maps. There were four red markers and three blue ones, and a white line. Zen pointed to the red markers, all in a row in the center of Wilant and along the north border. "These are the four houses that were part of the alliance, and are all now burning. The largest of the sections of land they represent are the lands of Farmor, closest to the castle. Here," he pointed to the three blue markers that made up an upward pointing triangle, "are the escape houses of the Earl. To both sides the mountains split around them, and to the direct north are even taller mountains. This," he pointed to the white line, "is the passageway from Tarc into this area. Here," he pointed to the north east of the white line, at the very edge of the map, "is Tarc. The normal route between Tarc and Wilant is here," he pointed to the upper edge of the map east of the castle. Zen looked at Kiki. "And here," he pointed to the lands just east of the castle and to the south and west of that passageway, "is Kiki's father's earldom."

Kiki saw it quickly and went pale. Obi drew his finger along both lines. Even Thayne and Grail looked concerned.

Zen said to Obi, "You said that the spy who was captured was marked as if from Selicia, yes?" Obi nodded. "Thayne, you said that the enemy in Tarc sends messages to Ilena in the things he does, the people he sends." Thayne nodded. "Then would you say that I might be right in saying that he has just told me what he intends to do when he comes?"

Grail and Thayne looked at each other. Thayne bowed to Grail ever so slightly. Grail wasn't happy being given the higher role in this case, but he took it anyway. "Because I have a longer time of experience with this enemy, I shall answer you, Regent Zen. However, I would first like you to tell it to me, what you think he is saying."

Zen looked at Grail and nodded once. "I think he's saying that he has on purpose opened up a hole for his forces to come down and encircle the castle from the west. That he will use a distraction, within or from, Selicia to draw our attention to the far west, while at the same time actually undermining and secretly attacking the earldom to the east. By the time the distraction from the west has been settled, he will have opened up a hole in the east to bring his men down to encircle the castle from the east. Once both openings are completed, then is when he'll actually move to bring his army down from the north to attack and besiege the castle."

Zen looked at the map again, and pointed to Lyrias in the far west. "Here," he drew his finger to a pass in the mountains north of Lyrias, "and here," he put his finger on another pass east of the the first one, "are the passes from Wilant into Selicia, with the second one also having access through a long hard pass into Tarc. If he wished to pin down the forces protecting Lyrias so they couldn't come to the aid of the castle, he could send in the forces of Selicia, or bring in a portion of his own. Not many would be needed to be sufficient to prevent aid from coming from that direction. If he wanted to do this, he would need to attack during the summer months, however, as the passes are not accessible in the winter."

"But this plan doesn't prevent my brother from bringing reinforcements up from the south. Unless he has a large number of forces that your own information network doesn't know about, he wouldn't be able to stand against the forces of all of Clarines. If he comes in the winter, my brother will be unable to bring his forces to assist until the spring, and the Tarc forces are nearly equal with what I would be able to bring to bear. With the weakening of the four lands to the west of the castle, and if he should be able to weaken the earldom to the east, I would lose the troops those lands would have otherwise brought. That would be a very great loss. If he should attack the Lyrias garrisons the summer before he comes down, the forces I could defend the castle with would be minimal indeed. I believe that he has already declared war upon Clarines."

Grail looked at Prince Zen for a long time. Then he bowed. "Mother will be very disappointed it was not her you told this to first."

A cold breeze blew into the room as the tent flap was lifted and two older gentlemen and a younger aide came in from outside. The matter of the Lord of Tarc was set aside and the matter of accomplishing Zen's goals in regards to Earl College and the uncle behind him began in earnest.

As the battle planning meeting wore on, Obi and Thayne became rather tired. Eventually Obi asked if they could remove to the sleeping cots in the antechamber of the battle tent long enough to get a few hours of sleep. Grail asked Obi if he might as well, as he'd been up nearly as long as they had. Obi allowed it, and Zen approved the three of them resting for a time, saying he would have Kiki wake them. Obi shuddered and warned the other two that it would not be a pleasant awakening if they were not prompt to obey. His last thoughts as he passed into sleep were of Ilena.


	31. Increasing Strength

_I really wanted to see Ryuu one more time, so here he is. If you find that boring, skip to the fourth section of this chapter (at the end). It's a 'strong Shirayuki' section that is fun. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 31 Increasing Strength**

"Ryuu? Ryuu?"

"Yes, Rio? What is it?" Ryuu poked his head out from around a cabinet. When they had met by chance at The Scholars Tavern on their mutual evening off, he'd asked her to please call him only by his name. She had insisted that he must do the same as well, then. It had been an enjoyable evening, to have a companion.

"Miss Leah has sent me." Ryuu could see that she was quite worked up. "Mistress Ilena refuses to eat her breakfast this morning. She didn't eat well all yesterday, and this morning when I went to feed her, she wouldn't. Usually she will always be obedient to Miss Leah, but when she also tried, Mistress Ilena looked at her and only said, 'I'm sorry, Leah' and turned her head away. She won't speak with us nor open her eyes."

Ryuu had come over and looked at her worriedly. "What is it I can do?"

"Miss Leah feels that perhaps if you will make the tea she took the first day after she woke up from her surgery, and come feed it to her, she won't be able to reject Ryuu."

Ryuu looked a little surprised, then nodded. "I'll do it."

"Thank you very much," Rio looked very much relieved. Ryuu was glad.

-o-o-o-

Ryuu knocked at Ilena's door and entered. Rio looked relieved to see him, and Leah welcomed him politely. He walked over to Ilena, carefully carrying the tea. She hadn't reacted to his presence yet. He placed the cup carefully on the chair that was close to her bed, then reached over and put his hand on her forehead, comparing her temperature to his own. He frowned slightly. It seemed a little cool, and as he measured her heart beat, which was slow but within the normal range for resting, he saw her breathing was a little shallow.

"Ilena, are you in pain?" he asked her kindly.

She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. To him, they looked dull, and he found that concerning. "It's not unbearable, Ryuu." Her voice was the thinness of a person who's been ill for too long, but was kind. He didn't like that. She was not so far from her surgery that she should be feeling that way. Indeed, she should be getting stronger each day now.

"Rio told me you can't eat, Ilena, but that isn't good. You must eat in order to regain your strength."

"I am sorry, Ryuu, but I can't." She did sound very contrite.

"Is it a matter of not being able to eat the same foods over again?" he asked.

She slightly shook her head. "When I understand the food will be swallowed, my stomach turns as if it will send it back out."

Ryuu nodded. He'd seen this before. "But you are able to drink liquids?" Ilena nodded. He smiled at her. "Well, then, let's start over to teach the body to eat again. I've brought some of the tea that contains the nutrients your body needs in order to do that. Will you try to drink it for me?" She nodded obediently and he picked up the cup.

Leah came to the bed and placed a pillow under Ilena's head to prop it up so that it would be easier to help her drink, but when the cup came close to her, she suddenly burst into tears. He looked at her in alarm. "Ah, Miss Ilena! What is it?"

"I-I'm sor-ry… The last time...I was offered...this, ...was to be...scolded." The tears ran from her eyes in rivulets.

He looked over to Leah, concerned. She sadly confirmed Ilena's words. "Hah, well, I am sorry for that, Ilena, but you still must try. If you'll drink it, I won't scold you," he promised. He waited until she was in control of herself again, then put the cup to her lips, carefully supporting it so it didn't spill on her. She was able to sip it a few times, then needed to rest, but he didn't let her rest overly long. With sufficient patience, which he had quite a lot of, he was able to get her to drink the whole cup. Though he could see the last part of it was somewhat difficult for her, she was swallowing more regularly. He set the cup down, gently put his hand on her head, and smiled at her. "See, you've done it." he said kindly. She nodded and tried to smile for him.

"Please try to eat at the next meal," he asked her. "But if you can't, I'll bring you some tea again. Together we'll help your body learn to be hungry and eat again."

"I will," she promised softly.

"Thank you very much, Mister Ryuu," Leah said to him gratefully. "We'll send for you again if she has more trouble."

"I'm happy to be of help at any time," he answered, then indicated Leah should come with him out of the room.

"Miss Leah, if she isn't able to eat at lunch time, I'll come and eat with her at the dinner hour. It may be that I'll be able to cajole her into eating if she's been able to have the tea twice. We do see this in many patients, so it's good you sent for me."

"I'm concerned," Leah answered him, "that it's also a matter of it being the same food too frequently. She was able to eat when it was only three times a day, but since she's been being made to eat five meals a day, it's become much more difficult for her until she's reached this point."

"Mmm, yes, that could be a problem. Perhaps we can supplement with the tea instead, giving it to her at the normal tea time in the mid-afternoon. Then she might only have to eat at the proper mealtimes."

"That would be much appreciated, I'm sure," Leah was happy to have a workable solution. "Thank you, Mister Ryuu." She bowed slightly and he returned to his office.

-o-o-o-

Rio entered the pharmacy for the second time that day, and stood waiting as Ryuu finished helping his current medical patient. He glanced at her a few times while he worked. She didn't look good and he wondered briefly if she had come for herself this time. Her arms were folded in front of her and she was slightly hunched, as if in fear or pain. He was finally able to excuse his patient and turn to Rio.

"What is it, Rio?" he asked her in his best 'calm the patient' voice.

"It's Mistress Ilena again, Ryuu," her eyes were so sad. "She tried so hard to eat, but it wouldn't stay down."

Ryuu put his hand on her wrist, above where her hand clutched the elbow of her other arm. He'd been taught that physical touch was also calming. "It's okay, Rio. The body can do this on it's own when it's trying to recover from difficult circumstances, and with a little help the body can repair it as well. I'll make more tea for this time. Then I'll come and we will try together at dinner again, if you'll fetch me."

As Rio took courage from his words and looked up at him, he noticed suddenly, now that they were standing so close together, that he could nearly look into her eyes. With another year of growth or less, he would stand at least as tall as her. Because he had three more years, at least, of growth, he would likely in the end be slightly taller than her. For some reason, this pleased him. He let go of her before he blushed, and turned away so she wouldn't see. "You would be welcome to come with me while I make the tea. It won't take long."

He walked towards the herb room and was mildly delighted when she followed him after a slight pause. As he worked, he wasn't sure what to say to her, but she didn't seem distressed by his silence, rather it felt like when Shirayuki would be in the room with him - a comforting companion. He realized that he would like to know her age, but was embarrassed to ask. It somehow didn't seem too appropriate, but the voice of Ilena saying he wouldn't learn things if he didn't ask was nudging him to ask it anyway.

"Ryuu," he jumped a little.

"Yes?" He put the last herb into the mix and picked up the hot water that constantly sat over a small flame since such tinctures and teas were common remedies for the castle staff.

"I've heard that you are the youngest Head Pharmacist in the history of Clarines, but I was wondering what that meant. ...How old are you?" Rio had asked the question first, and he was somewhat relieved.

He had paused in surprise, but now he carefully poured the hot water into the cup. "I'll be seventeen in three months."

"Ah, seventeen! I thought you were much older! ...But that is like Mistress Ilena. She was seventeen when she became Steward of Farmor. It must be because you are both very intelligent so as to seem many years older than your age. My birthday is not much farther from your own. I'll be nineteen in five months."

Though she was running on, Ryuu didn't mind. He'd been captivated by her statement that he seemed older. He had never been told that before, always being called younger because he was short for his age. "Thank you," he said softly, giving her a shy smile.

She paused, blushed slightly, then smiled back. "You're welcome, I think."

Ryuu started, "Ah, the tea's ready. Shall we go?" Rio had such soft features when she smiled. He thought he would like to see that more frequently. On the way, out of the pharmacy, he asked her, "Do you know when your next holiday is? I haven't yet been able to go out and see the city since I came. I'm not very good with crowds the first few times I go places, and Obi and Shirayuki seem to be very busy these days. I would enjoy it if you could possibly keep me company."

Rio stared, surprised at him. He hurried to add, "I can go whenever your holiday is. After all I am the Head Pharmacist. I can set my own schedule to some degree." He smiled again, knowing that he was being a little funny.

Rio laughed lightly. "I should think you would be able to. ...I would be happy to go with you, but I'll have to ask when Master Obi returns when I may have a holiday. I hope that will not be too long for you to wait."

"No, that will be fine," Ryuu said, the smile still on his face. She had understood he was being humorous. Having always been around people who were older than him, it never occurred to him to question the fact that she was almost two years his senior. They were close enough in age, that was enough.

-o-o-o-

Rio came to get Ryuu for dinner. He was glad he'd asked her to. She said it took four tries to pull him out of his deep thought, and apologized for interrupting him. He reassured her, saying it was quite normal behavior for him, and he didn't mind it at all. He didn't tell her that he'd missed the dinner meal for the last four nights in a row and eaten it cold nearly at midnight each night. Not having Shirayuki around to remind him to take care of himself was becoming a bit problematic.

As they walked to Ilena's room, Ryuu asked if the meal cart had been delivered yet. Rio shook her head, then pointed. The cart was just now being pushed towards them. "Ah, good," Ryuu said. He walked over to meet the cart and asked the server to wait just a moment. He looked over what was on the cart, both for all of them, and for Ilena. "Please go back and bring us an orange," he requested. The server nodded and dashed off for the kitchen.

"An orange?" Rio asked.

"They are Ilena's favorite," Ryuu said to her. "I noticed it when I was helping take care of her when she was first brought to the castle. If we can entice her with her favorite food, then she may be able to hold the required food as well. There are a few other foods here that we may be able to encourage her with, but the orange will be most effective. Watch how I feed her, then you may be able to better encourage her yourself tomorrow."

Rio nodded enthusiastically. "I'll watch carefully, Ryuu. We're very concerned to be able to help her as best we can. It's worrisome to see her this skinny. She's been this way before and it took us many months to get her to eat again."

"She has been?" To Ryuu this was actually important information. "How long ago was it?"

"Ah, she's about twenty-six now, and was about eleven or twelve at the time."

"That was very young to be this way," he was surprised. "What caused it then?

Rio became very sober. "I...I'm not sure Ryuu would like to know."

"Rio," he said in the voice he had learned would get his patients to tell him the things they didn't want to tell him, "this is very important. If her body has already learned once to not eat, it may be more difficult for me to get her to eat again this time. If I can understand what happened the first time, I won't make mistakes."

She still paused, but her concern for her mistress won out, and he was relieved to see it. "Ryuu, Earl College is very evil, though his father before him was worse. I think the story will be too much for you, but I will tell you that he locked her into a small box, the size of a coffin, for seven months without letting her out, though she was allowed to eat one meal per day. When she was finally let out, she was only skin and bone, and very weak. If you want more medical details then this, you must ask Leah. She was there for it, and was the one who nursed her back to health."

"Mistress Ilena and Leah came to Farmor from somewhere else when she was about nine. The rumor is that she is somehow related to the College family, and came when her parents died, with no other family to turn to. It was a terrible place to have to stay, and most of us, given her situation, would have stayed alone in whatever place we had been before. But without her, we would all have died much sooner and not be her Family now. She kept us all alive through the pain and horror of that place. The fact that she mentally survived her time in the coffin was a miracle and we all respect her greatly and would do anything for her. Ryuu is gentle with Mistress, and I'm glad."

Ryuu had never heard of such evil, and was reeling, even though he could tell she was trying to soften the story as much as possible. "Does Obi know?" he finally asked.

"I don't know if she's told him or not, but I suspect she hasn't. Master Obi was also in that house. Earl College's father punished him regularly with a similar punishment, though only for days at a time, so he understands that she finds it difficult to sleep at night, but I think she has spared him the knowledge I've just told you, knowing it would be too difficult for him to accept it."

"I think," Ryuu said slowly, "that Obi should know."

Rio shook her head. "Perhaps she will tell him, or she will decide it's too large a burden for him to carry and will keep silent, I don't know."

"Why would it be his burden?"

"...She received the punishment because he ran away from the house and Earl College blamed her."

Ryuu's heart stopped for a moment. He knew Obi well, and knew that the knowledge he had just received would be indeed a great burden for the kind-hearted man who always had a smile and ready word for him. But at the same time, it seemed to him, who always was not being told things, that it would still be better for Obi to be told. "Well, it's hers to tell, but I think it's not fair to Obi for him to not understand her well enough. There are things that one would do much differently if all of the knowledge is presented. I have learned this well with our medicine. Not knowing one important detail can change everything in how we treat an illness, and in the potential recovery of the patient. It's for this reason I asked you to tell me. There are some things I'll do differently now that I know she has lived through her body rejecting food because of starvation once before. While it sounds like a very terrible situation to have been in for her and for all of you, thank you for telling me this much. I hope all of you are much happier now."

Rio smiled. "We are, very much so. To see Mistress arriving at the possibility of achieving her goals makes us all the mores so. We want to help her to succeed."

The server who had brought them the food cart came running up with the orange Ryuu had requested. Ryuu thanked him, hid it in his pocket, and he and Rio took the food cart in together, Ryuu working out his plan to help Ilena as he went.

He pushed the food cart up close to Ilena's bed, then turned to her smiling. "Good evening, Ilena," he said. "Are you feeling well?" He ran through his usual check of her health. Keeping the pattern was soothing.

She smiled slightly, though she looked just a little unsure at having all the smells around her. He was watching for that. He nudged the cart a little farther from her, under the pretence of moving it out of his way. She seemed to recover just a little. "I'm feeling well enough. The pains are mostly aches at this time. I'm still feeling weak, of course." She had learned he wanted to have details when he asked her that question.

"And are you keeping mentally healthy as well?" he asked her, sitting down on the chair between her and the cart. He surreptitiously pricked the skin of the orange in his pocket, allowing a little of the scent of it to be leaked from it. It didn't take her long to get an extremely interested look in her eyes. He smiled.

"Ah, well, that's more difficult, of course," she admitted. "Being at loose ends with nothing to do but lie here always makes my skin itch and my muscles wish to be exercising, but I'm coping with the help of Leah and Rio. It helps that Mistress and Ryuu can come to visit." Her eyes were keeping a close watch on him, and were growing hungry. That was good. He was looking for that.

"Well, I'm glad for that. Be sure that you do let them, or myself, know if that's becoming difficult. We want for you to be as healthy as possible, after all, mentally as well as physically. It will make for a better recovery all around. Shall we work together to get your body to eat something real tonight?"

Ilena shied away from the thought, then looked at him hungrily again. "You seem to have brought something with you to bribe it with. I hope it'll work."

"Do you want some?"

"Yes."

"That's good. It may work then. But first, can you tell me if there is anything else on the cart that you find smells good?"

"Ah, you'll have to move. I can't focus my sense of smell on anything else than what you are carrying with you."

Obi smiled. "Very well. Rio, will you please offer Ilena each dish one by one. We'll test to see what her body is interested in eating tonight."

"Even if it's not on the approved list?" she wasn't sure.

"Yes. What her body needs and what we can give it are different in some cases, but not all cases." He moved and Rio began to pick up dishes. He continued to explain as Rio would hold up a dish and Ilena would nod or shake her head. "The body has a natural ability to tell by smell what nutrients it needs. The foods that smell good contain the nutrients that it needs. It's easier to feed a starving body the things it needs."

Rio was separating the dishes according to Ilena's preferences. There was one in particular that she reacted very badly to. Then she and Rio laughed, once it had been placed far away. "That was one I never have liked," Ilena told Ryuu. "It has made me sick every time I've been forced to taste it."

Ryuu looked at it closely. "Ah, it contains a vegetable that some people's bodies find intolerable, though we don't quite know why it happens. Miss Leah, you should let the kitchen know. They won't send it to her again, though if you like it you can let them know that also." Leah nodded. She was watching the proceedings with great interest. Ryuu looked at her a moment, then said quietly to her, "Miss Leah, Rio has told me about the time before when Miss Ilena was like this. Is there anything in particular that stood out to you when you were nursing her back to health that I should be aware of?"

"She had also been only given minimal water to survive. It was necessary for me to re-teach her to drink, not just to eat. That's why I sent Rio to you for the tea. I didn't want her to get so bad she couldn't drink again. It was like having an infant again for quite some time. I was able to get her back to eating using that thought."

Ryuu nodded. "That was a good way to do it in that situation. Here, she already has those basics. We just need to add back in the adult food, if you will."

Leah nodded. "That's my understanding, also, but I hadn't thought to use smell to do it. Her sense of smell is particularly high because of the first starvation, I've always thought."

"It's possible," Ryuu mused. "Is it the source of her excellent hearing as well?" He was remembering Obi's comments when she had lost her hearing for a time.

"No, she came to that much earlier."

Rio turned to Ryuu. "We've sorted all the food on the cart, Ryuu."

He walked up to the cart and took note of all the foods she was needing. "She has definitely had enough breads." He smiled at Ilena.

She smiled back. "Yes, very much so."

"Vegetables, in the main, and simple meats." He nodded. "That's about what I suspected. I'll send a specific menu to the kitchen that we'll try for a week, maybe two depending on how you're doing, then we'll do this again."

Ilena's eyes went wide. "I can eat real foods?"

"Well, you may not like the fact that they will be processed for very young children, to still prevent choking, but yes. We need to feed the body what it will eat in order for it to be willing to work with us. For now, we will choose…," he picked out a chicken dish in a sauce, and a dish with only vegetables that had been cooked to soft. He handed them to Leah who carried them to the desk. "Rio you may make up our plates while we work on Ilena's."

They made up a plate for Ilena that had the chicken shredded in the sauce, in a small portion, and mashed each type of vegetable separately, such as would be made to introduce new flavors to very young children just learning to eat them, but he limited the foods to four total. "Just as we introduce new flavors slowly to children, we don't want to overwhelm her body too quickly. As I wish to also have her earn her special treat, I want to be conservative tonight."

Ilena was looking at them as best she could, her head craned to see them. To Ryuu, that was another good sign. Her interest in eating was continuing to increase. That was important to getting the body to accept the food and keep it down. "We're ready," he said, and Rio put the pillow behind Ilena's head.

Ryuu went and stood where Ilena couldn't see just yet. "Miss Leah, Rio, we used smell first. The body has asked for what it needs. We are going to offer those things to it, and it will tell us what it needs the most. That is done by using the eyes. Ilena, when I show you the plate, I want you to tell me the first food you see that your body desires to eat."

Ilena nodded and he walked around to stand before her and hold the plate where she could see it, though that was not so easy from her position.

"Carrots," she said simply. He immediately put a small amount on the spoon and fed it to her. She tasted it slowly, savoring the flavor.

"Feed it quickly, while the body still craves it. The reward is important. But here at the beginning we'll only use small amounts at a time so as to not overwhelm."

"More," she said. He again immediately gave her a small amount. After she swallowed it, she pondered. "One more." He again kept it small. She nodded. "That was the right amount. I was afraid I would get too much. That was what made me afraid."

Ryuu nodded. "This is important. The body needs to trust that it won't get overwhelmed when it is getting what it needs. The portions must stay sufficiently small for it to begin to trust the food again. It will take the next week to two weeks to work up to even a half spoonful on most foods. Do you want more carrots, or would you like something else."

Ilena frowned. "Something else, but it isn't on the plate."

"Would it be a drink?"

Ilena was surprised. "Ah, yes, that would be nice."

Ryuu nodded to Leah and she poured a glass of water and walked around to the other side of Ilena and helped her to drink several sips. "Separating the flavors is desirable at this point, but later we'll mix them. For drinking, sips are acceptable while eating, since the body in general is only accepting very small amounts of anything right now. As the portions on the spoon increase, so will the amount you drink each time. But when you take your tea, you should be working to make the amount you drink each time a normal amount to remind the body that it is an adult body, and it can perfectly well handle that amount. This will help you to be able to eat larger bites at your meals as you go along as well."

Ilena and Leah both nodded. They had both learned this as well when she had been starving before and she'd had to start with liquids. "Chicken," Ilena said next. Ryuu again fed her very small bites until she was done, again only a very few bites, but more as she was able to eat five of them before needing to stop. They continued this process until she had eaten as much as she could keep down. In the end, she had alternated each vegetable with the chicken, though the first five were the most bites she had been able to eat in one run.

"You are quite protein deficient," he said, "but that's to be expected. I would think that you are also milk deficient, which is why I chose the chicken that was cooked in a sauce in which milk was used."

"The flavor was very good," Ilena said.

"Then that's probably the case," Ryuu said. "I use flavor last of all, because sometimes what we need and what we taste are not the same. But if it tastes good, it's still an acceptable indicator you need it." There was still food on the plate, but Obi handed it to Rio to put on the cart. "Now," he leaned back, "at this time there's no point in forcing the body to eat more than it can. But soon, if you don't begin to eat greater amounts on your own, we'll need to encourage it to eat the correct amount for an adult body to survive in a healthy manner."

Still leaned back casually, he pulled out the orange and began to slowly peel it. "You are, I imagine, feeling rather full, and not like eating anything at all, so I may have to eat this by myself, but we'll see if we can tempt the body into acknowledging it might have enough room for something it really wants." He watched her eyes, which were watching the orange in his hands. He was looking for a specific reaction. "When we're ready to help your body increase the quantity it's willing to accept, we'll use your favorite food of the day to encourage it. We'll feed you what you think is a sufficient amount, like the three bites of carrot at the beginning. Then we'll offer a bit of, say orange, but you won't get to eat it until you eat three more bites of carrot. If you can eat them, you'll get your reward. Then we'll repeat it for the next food, and so forth."

"We'll be unable to use only oranges, sadly, as the body will eventually need something different to interest it, so if there's any other thing that could tempt you in the same way, it would be very useful to know." She didn't answer, she was so fixated on the orange. Ryuu smiled. That was where he wanted her to be. He put one of the peels in her hand. "Just hold that for a moment," he told her. He put the remaining peels on the plate on the cart. When he turned back he watched what she was doing.

Ilena was rubbing the outside of the orange peel, then she lifted it to her nose and smelled the interior. He had a sudden idea. Later, if he ever needed to win her favor for something, all he would have to do would be to make a tea for her that included orange peel. He had learned while working with the head pharmacist at Wistal, Garak, that the right tea could calm and make pliable strong women who never chose to relax on their own. He would never forget this. He couldn't after all. That was his gift, that he remembered everything he saw or read. He walked up to Ilena and put his hand on her head. She looked up at him. "Are you feeling like eating might be a good idea right now, if it could be what you want? Or is just having the peel sufficient?"

She paused in thought, then said, "Just one, please?"

"If I give it to you, you have to chew the entire piece and swallow it. I won't give it to you in small pieces, nor can you just suck the juice out of it." She looked at him in surprise. "Decide," he told her.

She considered just a moment, then her eyes flashed. "I'll eat it."

He immediately held one section out to her, but he made her take it. She reached up slowly, then in a flash it was in her mouth and she was chewing on it, her eyes closed in pleasure. He watched her closely. This was a bit tricky, this part. Once the part of the orange that was easy to eat was gone, the body was likely to reject the outer skin. This was the other hard part of getting young children to eat proper foods. Texture. Her body had to be able to process the fibrous parts of foods. It would be a problem with unshredded meats as well. The orange was perfect to teach it, but, if it didn't go well, she would choke on that part today. But to explain it before she had performed it would interfere with her being able to do it.

She was reaching that point and he watched what she would do. He was surprised when she swallowed it down suddenly, likely still mostly whole. She grinned at him. "I learned to do that with mikan before, so I've practiced that part. It was probably the thing that frustrated Nana more than anything else - teaching me to chew and swallow real food again."

Ryuu sighed in relief. "That's good. If we don't have to fight that part, the rest will come easily and naturally." He paused looking at her, then asked casually, "Do you want another?"

"Nope." She was actually cheerful, finally. "But it was very good."

"Hmm…," he said thoughtfully as he sat back down in the chair. "Well, I haven't had my dinner yet, so I'll go ahead and eat it then." He took one of the slices and ate it, not too fast, not too slow, as if he was just casually eating it. It only took getting to the second slice before she looked like she was regretting her decision.

As he peeled off the third section, he looked up and looked into her eyes. She was almost begging with them. His eyes turned up into a smile and danced. She made a face at him. "Ah, you are teasing me!"

"Yes," he said mildly, and ate the third slice.

"Ara!" She bit her lip, looking concerned. He knew she was trying to weigh what her body would do with what she really wanted to do desperately. Then she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes and relaxed. "If you will save me the last piece, I may be able to eat it in a few minutes. But right now, I can't." She sounded sad, and he was not surprised, but he was pleased she was willing to try.

"All right. I'll save it for you. Let me know when you want it." He set all of the remaining sections on a small plate on the cart, putting his finger to his lips as a warning to the other women, and picked up his plate to eat his own dinner. "You have done very well, Ilena. I'm pleased. I hope you will continue to work this hard on each meal from now on."

"Thank you, Ryuu," she said.

When he was done eating, he set his plate on the cart, then took the little plate of oranges off the cart and set it on the desk. "Rio, we are done with the cart," he said. She took it out of the room to leave it for the servers to retrieve. "Ilena, do you think you can eat the last piece of orange?"

She sighed. "Not a whole one. Maybe a half. But I'm not sure it would be worth it at this point." She sounded like she was already falling asleep. He wasn't surprised. A weakened body with food in it that it needed would not stay awake long.

Ryuu nodded. "You are full enough, then. I'll leave it for later." He looked at Leah and motioned to the orange sections. She smiled and bowed her head, understanding that she was allowed to use the remainder of the orange slices to reward Ilena.

"Thank you very much, Mister Ryuu," Leah said. "I've learned some important things this evening."

Ryuu nodded. "You're very welcome, Miss Leah. I'll send the menu to the kitchen when I have it written up. You won't have to test the foods for the next while, but you will likely have to tempt her to eat them." She nodded and looked resigned. She'd already had to live through that process once, but this time Ryuu had made it easier.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki sat down in the chair at Zen's desk and sighed. She'd just finished sorting the day's mail into the proper piles, and now she had _this_ to decide what to do about. Sitting before her was a message tied with a gold ribbon, and marked somewhat urgent. At most King Izana would wait three days to receive a response.

"Dane?" she called.

"Yes, Mistress Shirayuki?" he looked up from his work.

"Would it be possible to get a message to Zen?"

"Ah," he had seen the letter come in, "well, we wouldn't want to send a message bird, lest we give away his position to the enemy, but one could be sent by courier. If you were willing to use Mistress Ilena's network, it would arrive to him over a half-day sooner than if you used the military network."

"Surely you boast, brother," Tairn said, looking up.

"No." Dane looked at him seriously. "Mistress Ilena's goal is to decrease it again by another half, at least, once she's finally in the position to do so."

Tairn raised his eyebrow. "Will the method be shared?"

Dane answered, "I should think so. She plans to have it be one of her businesses."

"She'll market it?" Tairn was even more surprised.

"She needs to earn money to support her household somehow," Dane shrugged. "Right now, the only means of fast communication, the island birds, is reserved for military and castle use, with a few lords who can pay the high prices for the few available birds. Mistress Ilena would like to see her method be able to be used eventually for any who wish to pay for it."

"Ehhhhh." Tairn was impressed with her ambition.

Dane turned to look at Shirayuki to see if she had any other questions for him, but she was already at work, her head bent over a piece of paper, her pen moving rapidly.

Shirayuki put down her pen and reread the letter she'd written, then decided Zen should know what she'd done. She pulled out another piece of paper and began writing again.

 _Dear Zen,_

 _A private letter arrived from King Izana on the fifth day after you left. I've sent him the following response, by way of the island birds, so that I might know what he wishes for me to do. I hope the campaign is going well,_

 _Shirayuki_

 _Dear King Izana_ , she copied from her first letter.

 _Regent Zen is currently on campaign in the north to bring Earl College to face justice at the Lord's Court to be held in a few month's time. I have received your private letter to him. I do not intend to read it myself, but wish to know what you desire for me to do. He is not expecting to be at his desk again in the Rose office for another sixteen days. If you are willing, I could have it sent to him by way of the Director of Intelligence's courier network, with his response coming by the same way. This will make his response come to you later than you anticipated when you sent it._

 _I await your response,_

 _Shirayuki_

She placed her note to Zen in a message folder and placed it underneath the folder that had come from King Izana, and put the original to go to King Izana on top of them both and set them aside. Then she went to the door and stepped out briefly.

She motioned to a page, who lept up to speak with her. "Go to the message hall and fetch me some of the ribbon used to tie up personal messages. It must be of the color red." She paused, then added, "And I think it should be of sufficient quantity to last me for some time. You may go." The page ran off.

"A-hem."

She turned to her right and sighed internally.

"Miss Shirayuki, I really do not think it is appropriate for one such as yourself to be doing the Regent's business." It was Marquis Duluke, here in the hall for the fifth day in a row, and apparently for the same purpose.

"Marquis Duluke, as I said before, Regent Zen has requested that I continue to work in his office while he's away and do what it is I can do. I intend to be obedient to his word. If you wish to question him, you must do so when he is present. I would think that allowing your own duties to languish for the remainder of the three weeks he is gone would only be a sign to him that you are unwilling to do your own duties as required of a minister to the crown. I have business to attend to. Excuse me." She ignored him when he would have spoken to her again and closed the door to the Rose office against him.

She had tried to reason with him politely the first two days. When he actually followed her away from the Rose office the day before today as she was headed to Ilena's room, berating her all along the way, she'd had to desperately request help from Marcus to deflect him so that the marquis did not learn of Ilena or her location. She'd been very glad Marcus had shown up just at the right moment. She'd been so flustered that she'd finally asked Ilena for advice on what to do in this situation. So far, she felt much better at having had her say and then refusing to stay and listen to him have nothing but wind to say again. She took a deep breath, then returned to Zen's desk, taking up her own work.

Perhaps longer than she was expecting, there was a knock at the door and the page she'd sent was let into the office. She looked up and waited. He walked up to her and said, "I'm sorry to be so late, Lady Shirayuki. The message office does not at this time have red ribbon, however they have sent out to get some. In the meantime, I was able to find a servant girl who had a red ribbon that she was willing to give to you for your purposes." He held out a length of pretty red satin ribbon. "When the message office has obtained the ribbon necessary, they'll send a portion up to the office here."

Shirayuki was loath to take someone's hair ribbon they had likely purchased for their own purposes, but she was short on time. "Thank you very much," she took the ribbon and the page excused himself.

Thinking that she might have to wait several days before receiving the message ribbon, she cut just the necessary length she needed off the ribbon she'd been given, using the little knife Zen used to cut his own blue ribbon. She folded her message to the King, rolled it up to fit into a message bird's message tube, and tied it with the red ribbon, then she carried it out the door.

"Henry," she called a page she knew she could trust, "please take this message to the message office. Tell them it's to be sent by message bird immediately to King Izana. Wait there to receive his reply and bring it directly to me. That is all."

"Yes, Lady Shirayuki," he took the message, bowed, glanced to her right with a telling look, then disappeared.

Shirayuki closed her eyes. She'd had it with the marquis. She had originally decided she wouldn't do it, but Ilena's final bit of advice was all that was left.

"Mistress Shirayuki," the marquis began. She didn't let him finish.

"Marcus, please go down to the Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and let him know that his Minister is loitering about the hall in front of the Rose office again, for the fifth day in a row, and needs to be reminded of his proper duties to the crown. That is all." She turned at walked back into the room, closing the door tightly behind her.

Marcus, a big grin on his face, dashed off. The marquis stood in the hall astonished, then remembered that he did not enjoy scoldings from his secretary and decided he would like to be elsewhere when that man appeared in this hall.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki was supposed to be going down to visit with Ilena now, but instead she was staring at the letter that had arrived from King Izana, another gold ribbon on it, directed to her.

 _Dear Miss Shirayuki_ , She was sure it wasn't written by his own hand, but she wouldn't know as she'd never seen his handwriting before. But he most assuredly had at least voiced the words:

 _It was quite shocking to be handed a message with a red ribbon upon it. Has my little brother finally understood what to do with you? Or was the office staff too busy to deal with my message itself, that it had to ask the pharmacy for help? I do hope Tairn is doing his work properly. I trust Director Ilena's couriers sufficiently._

 _Izana, King_

"Ah, now what do I do?" she sighed.

"Mistress Shirayuki?" Dane looked up at her.

"Ah, King Izana has responded to my question, but if I don't answer him again, it won't go well. However, it doesn't seem to be something that needs to go by message bird, yet at the same time, I'm not able to tell sufficiently. Which should I choose?"

Dane cautiously asked, "May I ask, what is in his letter that he needs to know?"

Shirayuki looked at the letter again. The king had maligned the entire office, so perhaps it would be best if the entire office answered it. She handed it over. Dane read it, then questioningly looked at her as he moved to hand it to Tairn. She nodded and he passed it over. Tairn sighed when he finished reading the letter.

"So you still have an adversarial relationship with the King?" Tairn asked sympathetically.

"Well, I don't think it's quite that," said Shirayuki, "it feels more like he enjoys teasing me." She sighed. "Mitsuhide says he enjoys teasing Zen, too. And that Zen hates writing letters to his brother the most."

"Well...," Tairn decided to leave that alone, "I would say that for this letter, it wouldn't be necessary to send it by message bird, unless you wished to send him a particular, unwritten, message."

Shirayuki considered that. "You mean, if I wished to express an immediate answer to his criticism of the office?"

Tairn smiled at her. "There are many things an immediate response can say, the same as a message sent slowly on purpose. How you send this response can say as much as the words themselves." He handed the letter back to her.

Shirayuki took the paper, considering what Tairn had said, and walked over to the door. She poked her head out. "Henry, go tell Ilena I'll be late. I need to write a response to this letter from the King," she shut the door still preoccupied.

"Ah," Dane interrupted her as she moved back to the desk. "What about the message to Zen?" he reminded her.

She shook her head. "No, I want to send him a copy of my letter to this one, too. I think he'll need to know what I've communicated to the King so that if he needs to answer to it as well, he is not unaware."


	32. Hunting Earl College

_Our climax begins with a bit of fun. Enjoy._

* * *

 **CHAPTER 32 Hunting Earl College**

Less than one day later, Zen, preparing for the final assault on the house of Earl College, sat holding two message folders, the first one thin and bound with gold. The second one somewhat thicker and bound with red. A messenger stood before him.

Zen blinked and looked at Mitsuhide and Kiki. They were as bemused as he. He opened the first one, from the King, and read it.

 _Little Brother,_

 _I hear you've allowed Shirayuki to sit in your office at your desk. That seems as bold a move as the kiss on the platform just before leaving was cowardly. I look forward to seeing what your pharmacist can do in that place._

 _Big Brother Izana, King_

Zen had a sinking feeling. He looked at the red ribbon binding the other folder.

"Shirayuki?" guessed Kiki.

He nodded. "Yes, we talked about it when she first came to the office, remember?" He handed Izana's letter over to them to read.

"I thought so, too," commented Kiki after she read it.

"But why did she send it on?" Mitsuhide asked.

Zen looked down at what was still in his hand. "I'm a bit afraid to find out," he admitted. He slowly slipped the ribbon from the message folder, placing it carefully in his jacket pocket. Mitsuhide knew it was going to join his growing pile of "Shirayuki first's" memorabilia in the Rose office desk drawer, and he hoped suddenly she didn't go looking through the desk while they were gone.

Zen opened the folder and began reading. He handed the first two letters over to his aides - the response she had sent to the King in the first place, and his response to it. When he read her second response, Zen began to smile.

 _Dear King Izana,_

 _Prince Zen has asked that I sit at his desk in the Rose office while he is away, so that I might accomplish that which I can do to make his own burdens less. Thus it was to me that your first message was brought. I felt it best to respond to you promptly at that time. I will send your message to Prince Zen via Director Ilena's courier, then; however, in order to not place an unnecessary burden upon our message service, I shall send this missive to you by the normal route. Tairn and Dane Malkin are both performing their duties for Miss Kiki most admirably while they are also kind enough to assist me with mine. The Rosebud office is keeping up with the remainder of the necessary work sufficiently. I should think it would be as obvious to you as it was to Zen that my messages would come by way of a red ribbon._

 _I look forward to hearing from you again,_

 _Shirayuki_

 _Dear Zen,_

 _I've sent this response to the King by way of standard mail. If he wishes to have me as a correspondent, then I am happy to oblige. Likely there will be another set of letters for you to read when you arrive back at the castle, if he's not too busy to continue teasing me. I do think that allowing you to be aware of what he is saying is important, so I'll continue to keep copies._

 _Ilena has been as great a use to me in the office as Tairn and Dane, though it's through the advice she gives me when we visit in the afternoons since I can't have her presence. The pages Marcus and Henry also help me, both with the office work, and when I am out and about in the castle. The small hurdles of the first few days seem to have been worked out and things are going smoothly now._

 _Please take care. I am thinking of you often. ...And Happy Birthday. I have not spoken to Ilena about your party yet, but she is doing well._

 _Shirayuki_

 _P.S. Ilena says she would like black, because if she has to send a written message to you or the King, it will most assuredly contain dire news, and you should therefore be prepared before you open it to read it. I'm in disagreement, still. We'll wait to hear what your preference is before deciding_.

"Shirayuki is as solid as always. Mitsuhide, please prepare to write for me," Zen ordered. Mitsuhide went to his field desk and took out pen and paper, then waited for Zen to be prepared to give his dictation.

 _Elder Brother,_

 _Shirayuki has been my Adjunct for several weeks now, in charge of handling all petitions brought before the Regent. The lords have become used to seeing her face in that capacity. As she has also been helping, when she has time, with duties about the Rose office, I felt it best to leave her in charge of both while I was away._

 _The kiss was not cowardly. It was calculated to both bring high morale to the soldiers before bringing them out to battle, and to send the message to the lords of the castle that I expected them to be obedient to her while I was away. It also was a message to all of Clarines that I intend to announce my intentions towards her very soon, as I'm sure you already understand. Her unrehearsed speech to them was well received and thoroughly acceptable. I expect responses to have been prepared by the time I return. I look forward to answering them, though I expect Shirayuki is already answering many of them on her own quite admirably._

 _We are preparing to engage Earl College directly. I would hold this message until I had a positive report to send you, but then it would arrive to you later than the promised time. I shall send that report to you when we have accomplished our goal. I am spending my free time considering the matter of the High Lord of Tarc._

 _Prince Zen, Regent Wilant_

 _P.S. Would you like to weigh in on what color ribbon Ilena should send written messages tied with? She says black so that we will be prepared for the terrible news that will inevitably be contained therein. Shirayuki favors the more optimistic violet, or green. You may let Shirayuki know in your next letter to her if you have a preference._

As Mitsuhide brought it over to Zen to sign, he said, "I do believe that is the fastest, and perhaps longest, letter you have ever composed to the King. You're growing stronger."

"Ah, well," Zen handed the signed letter back to him to be prepared for sending, "actually I've been composing it since I decided to kiss Shirayuki that day. I knew he'd be asking. It did help to read their communications first. Somehow I'm always able to draw strength from Shirayuki in all things. Ah! Before sending it, please copy it, then I'll add on a note to send to Shirayuki."

Mitsuhide took the letter back to his desk and copied it, then tied the original with blue to go to the King. "I'm ready, Zen." His pen was poised over the copy to continue writing.

 _Shirayuki,_

 _Thank you for the kind birthday wishes. Your letter was a perfect present. We are well, and nearly about to confront the Earl in his hole. I'm hopeful we can return home early. The help of Mother's Children has been invaluable for keeping the enemy from escaping outside the boundaries we have set for them, so the clean up afterwards should take much less time than I had anticipated, though it's perhaps too soon to say that just yet._

 _I've sent you a copy of my response to my brother. He merely wished to let me know he'd heard that you were working in the Rose office now, and wondered what my intentions were. I wish I could tell you how to differentiate between the letters he sends that are important for me to answer right away, and those that may languish, but it's not always consistent. You would have to read them yourself to know. I wouldn't mind giving you that permission, but you should seek his also. It's unlikely he'll grant it. Perhaps now that he's your correspondent he'll know to ask you directly next time when I'm unavailable._

 _I'm glad to know that Ilena, Dane, and Tairn are being helps to you and that you have other allies within the castle. I trust that things will continue to move smoothly for you. I also think of you often, and Obi also thinks of Ilena. Tell her that the second she sent for him has been very invaluable, though at first he was surprising. I'm looking forward to her story about him when we return._

He signed this letter, then tied it himself. Mitsuhide handed both letters to the messenger who bowed and left. Obi, with his men, walked in the tent as the messenger left. "You're using Mother's messengers, Master?" Obi asked, recognizing him as Family on sight. "Where are they going?"

"What do you think, Obi? Should Ilena's messages be sent with a black ribbon, or a purple ribbon?" Zen asked him putting all the letters he had received together again.

Obi looked puzzled, then looked at Thayne and Grail. In one voice all three said, "Black."

Zen looked at them surprised. "Why?"

"Because Mother has no need to send written messages, Master Zen," answered Thayne. "All of her messages are by voice."

"If she wishes to tell you a thing, she'll tell you herself," answered Obi.

Grail answered last, after nodding in agreement to the others. "Be prepared to plan her funeral if you receive such a message. She'll have sent it just before her own death."

"That would indeed be most distressing," Zen said. "But I won't hold her to it, rather I would hope it never happens."

"Will you give Shirayuki an opinion, Zen?" Kiki asked.

"And have to choose between the two of them?" he answered, horrified. "I'll let my brother decide."

"Is that cowardice?" she asked.

"Wisdom," all the men in the room chorused.

"What has brought this about, Master?" Obi asked.

Zen looked at him, then handed over the stack of letters. "Shirayuki is now a correspondent with not just a prince and a vagabond, but also a king." Obi began to read.

"Mmm, quite the opposite of Mother, then isn't it?" Thayne mused quietly. Grail smiled his faint smile in agreement. "What color does Mistress Shirayuki wish for Mistress Ilena?" Thayne asked.

"Purple, though she says green is still obviously available."

"Zen, must it be a solid color?" asked Grail in his soft voice.

"It's simpler for the eyes to see, but no, I don't believe there's a restriction."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a medallion upon which hung a length of cording, braided from three colors. He handed it to Zen for his inspection. "These are already her colors."

Zen held the medallion in one hand and ran the fingers of his other hand down the cording. It was braided with black, green, and gold. He liked it. The medallion had on one side the crest of her father, the lioness rampant with three roses beside it. The other side was the crest of the Wisteria family with the modification for the Second Princess, her mother's crest, though of herself she was still the First Princess until Zen married Shirayuki, if he had his way. He reverently handed the medallion back. "You are indeed someone special to Ilena, if you carry this," he said.

Obi slipped his hand in and took the medallion to see it before Grail could obtain it. Grail didn't protest. After Obi was satisfied, he handed it to Grail silently, gave him a look that promised he was going to have to tell him sometime soon who he was, then returned to reading the letters.

"What did you say in your response to King Brother?" Obi asked as he gave the letters back to Zen, who handed them to Kiki for safekeeping.

"That Shirayuki has been his Adjunct, rather than a pharmacist, for weeks, and exactly why he kissed her and put her in the Rose office at his desk," Kiki summarized. "And sent a copy of that letter to Shirayuki with further encouraging words."

"Ah, the Children of the castle are going to be disappointed then, I think," Obi said a little wistfully, and Thayne smiled.

"What is it?" Kiki asked.

"They had a bet going as to how long it would take Mistress to figure out what it was Master has done to her, and now he's told her himself. That will surely take the fun out of it all." He turned to Thayne. "Will she still award the Minor Dream?"

"Mmm, perhaps, but it's not certain. Likely she'll be just as unhappy Master Zen let it out." Thayne answered.

"What?" Zen was having a hard time with Mother's Children having fun at Shirayuki's expense.

"Mistress Ilena was also part of it, in that she was offering an additional reward to the winner of the bet," Thayne said.

Zen's eyes narrowed, then he gave up. "Then perhaps it's good I've ended it."

"Indeed," agreed Grail.

"Isn't that agreement because you've already lost the bet, Grail?" Thayne grinned at him. Grail looked at him stonily. "He has great faith in your Princess, Master Zen."

"Thank you for that," Zen said to Grail, who relaxed a little at his gratitude, but refused still to admit he had participated at all. "However, I wouldn't have voted for her to have understood it at all until either myself or Ilena had explained it to her." Thayne and Grail both straightened in surprise he would say this. He continued for their sake. "She still really knows nothing about palace politics. It's a field Ilena is planning on teaching her, but hasn't yet had the opportunity to. So if I had participated, that would have been my answer."

Thayne looked chagrined. "Then I've lost as well."

Obi put his hand on Thayne's shoulder in mock sympathy, then changed the subject to the report he had for Zen.

-o-o-o-

It was dark on the mountain and the sunset was fading from behind them in the west. Obi, Thayne and Grail were above the last house to be breached among the rocks and scrub. They were resting, waiting for the full moon to rise. That would be the signal to begin the attack. The soldiers had tightened the noose to just around this final house for two days now, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

During that time, the soldiers not needed for that duty, and Mother's Children had swept through the mountain, ensuring that there were no enemies remaining anywhere else. The other houses had been attacked, cleaned out and burned to the ground earlier. Zen didn't want anyone using them for bases of attack in the future. All that was left was to confront the Earl and Ilena's bastard uncle. They'd been seen going in, and the third doppleganger that Ilena had told them about had been found in Lyrias and taken into custody. Nothing had been allowed to leave the clear ground around the house, though Zen had given orders to allow the people in the house access to the outside unharmed, if they cared to come out. He wanted to know if they were still inside, and still alive. It had been pretty quiet, though.

Thayne was sitting up on a small rocky ridge looking down into the bowl the house was in, taking his turn to watch from their position. The lights in the house glowed through the few windows around the curtains that had been drawn so they couldn't see what was going on inside. There were torches set around the perimeter of the clearing by Zen's forces. They had been placed there as soon as the net had reach that distance. They wanted to be sure that the men inside didn't try to slip away at dark, and they didn't much mind the Earl knowing they were there, but they had kept their distance other than that.

Zen had decided to wait to see if the Earl would make the first move. He'd come out of his house each morning and demanded that if he was guilty of a crime, that he be given due course of the law and not be kept penned up like an animal. None had answered him, and eventually he had given up and gone back inside. He'd been quite angry this morning when he hadn't received a response, but the morning before, his response had been more mild. A large number of Mother's forces had been household members at Farmor. They confirmed for him that the first 'Earl' had been the uncle, and the second had been the Earl himself. Zen was satisfied they didn't need to wait any longer. One or the other wanted him to know they were there and wanted to talk. He was willing, as long as he held the advantage.

"Hahhh," Obi's nerves were alternating between his usual before-battle focused calm, and sudden moments of the old fear he had carried with him for so many years now. He was controlling them by remembering Ilena and the anger and desire for revenge he had for her sake. That cycle was getting old already. He stood from where he'd been crouched, in a relaxed waiting stance, and stretched. Moving would be preferable at this point. They still had about an hour or more to go before they moved up to a closer position to the house.

He turned to look at Grail. Grail was watching him, as he had been for much of the evening, from where he was leaning up against the rock Thayne was sitting on. As they left Zen to come here, Zen had called to Grail and said, "We can't afford any hesitation tonight. Whatever it is, fix it, or step aside before we engage." Grail still hadn't said anything, though Obi had been waiting for him to. It was time to get it out of him.

"Let's have it, then Elder Son. I'm tired of feeling like you're trying to decide how you'll eat me. If it keeps on, I'm going to have to assume you are actually working for the uncle in that house over there."

Grail pushed off the rock with his back and strode a few steps closer to Obi. Obi stayed in a relaxed ready stance, not threatening, but not unaware either. He'd been having a hard time getting into the skin of this man and wasn't sure if he would suddenly attack or not.

"Not all of us approve of what you're doing." Grail paused, wanting to be sure Obi understood that he was voicing a concern that more than one member of the household held, and more particularly, himself. "Why is it necessary to moderate the Princess when her independence is her strength?"

Obi paused. He hadn't considered that this would be what Grail would be concerned about. Grail himself was very well trained to serve under a master, even a king or prince. He rubbed the back of his head and wondered if he was the right person to answer the question, though of course he was the one who needed to answer to it. "Elder Son, you knew Ilena before she came to Farmor?" When Grail inclined his head, Obi asked him another question. "Did she ever serve a master before then?" Grail thought just a moment, then shook his head. "At Farmor, she didn't either. Rather, she strove to master the lords of that place, and won."

Obi paused, trying to collect his thoughts. "That was a thing I couldn't do. I would not serve out of fear or because of anger, but I also didn't care to master them. So I chose to run and live independent, serving only myself. When I found Master, I saw in him what I'd seen in Ilena. Someone who could lead with kindness, inspire others, and invited others to serve them. It was the latter that I had never experienced before - only being forced to serve. Because Master has never forced me, I've learned that service is not a burden, but is light, and I've chosen it for myself."

"Even so, because I'd only fought serving others, I hadn't learned how to serve properly. This is something that you have learned, likely from a young age - like Mister." Obi looked at Grail, knowing it was true, and wondering if he could comprehend what it was like to have to come to it at an older age. "Still, even after many years of training, I'm considered 'wild' by those who grew up to serve, though from my own understanding, I'm far from the wild I was. Can you understand this difference?" He tilted his head questioningly.

Grail looked at him a bit superiorly. "Of course."

"Can you?" Obi asked unbelieving. "I think you need to consider it harder than that. Can you stand in my shoes?" He waited. Grail was looking impatient. "It's important to understanding Ilena's position, Elder Son," Obi said gently.

Grail tried to consider it, his face furrowing. Obi tried harder. "You are not forced to serve blindly, nor are you bound to silent service. Both of these were required at Farmor. But those who must serve in this way never serve with their hearts. Your service is one you continue to offer because you choose to. In your service, you may give, strengthen, and if necessary, even rebuke without fear." Grail nodded. He understood this.

"How do you do this?" Obi asked. "How do you know what is the proper way to say, and what the proper time is? Or when it's the proper time to hold your tongue and bow your head? Can you teach me?"

"Ah…," Grail, in thinking about that, was beginning to see the difficulty of it, though of course it was done.

"Certainly gentle training from a young child is much simpler, is it not?" Obi asked him. Grail had to admit it probably was. "But when one who is not used to it asks you, it becomes difficult." Grail nodded.

"Ilena has learned to serve in the same way Master and King Brother have learned - by offering strength, inviting others to serve, and always minding the lives of others. These things are good and they are strengths to her, but they are not the service you offer." Grail understood.

Obi took a breath. "Ilena has asked to learn to be able to serve as Grail and Obi serve. ...You understand her goal, to stand behind Master at the side of Obi, supporting Mistress?"

Grail reluctantly nodded his head. He'd heard it, what Obi was saying, but he wasn't ready to accept it yet. Obi spelled it out anyway. "None of those things is to lead. She will continue to lead others, that won't change. But to be able to accomplish her goals, she must learn to serve as you and I serve. ...Because in this thing she is as 'wild' as Obi, Master has made me to be her teacher. Because I have lived the same path she must walk, she trusts me to help her understand. Because she has a goal and is impatient, she is working very hard to learn it. Because I am her partner, I wish to protect her path."

He stopped, and gave Grail time to digest what he'd said. Then he asked, "Have I answered you?"

"Because I cannot see the results of what you are doing," Grail said carefully, "I find it difficult to accept."

Obi looked at him. "What position are you in that it should need to be acceptable to you?" Obi was merely asking for information.

"Truly do I wish at this moment to tell you, but the Princess has forbidden it at this time."

Obi looked at him, then up at the shadow above them, blocking out the stars. He'd been watching the two of them for many days now. Thayne always answered when there was a question about the Family, but Grail was too careful. When they interacted, Thayne always took the younger brother position, thus Obi had called Grail by the term Elder Son, not really liking calling him by a false name assumed just for this mission. Grail was Selician and he carried Ilena's princess medallion. Obi believed Grail had brought it out on purpose, to give them a sign. And there was the time in the Black Cat, when Grail had come to test him.

Obi looked back at Grail. "Then I shall say it, though I only partially understand. You are someone that Ilena values so highly that she is still even now not willing to tell her partner nor her cousin and master, but continues to protect you. You come from Selicia and have known her childhood. Thus, like Miss Leah, you have been with her from the beginning. If you can't be properly convinced, you will be able to remove her from this path."

Grail answered, "Your understanding is sufficient. I guard her footsteps."

*hah* Obi sighed a puff of air. This Eldest Son stood behind her the same way Mister stood behind Master. Thus, he would indeed be very concerned about those Ilena surrounded herself with and the influence they had on her. "It must be very difficult to be placed far from her." Obi said sympathetically. "Mister cries if Master is gone from his sight longer than a few minutes."

Though it was difficult to read Grail's eyes in the dark of the stars, for just a fleeting moment Obi felt a raw pain emanate from the Eldest Son of Mother. "...I have not…," he cut off, then turned away abruptly. "When she is ready and calls me, I will come." Grail's voice was thick. Then he said very dangerously. "I will see what you have done."

Obi sighed inside. This Child of Mother's would be much more difficult to convince than any of the others. Why had Ilena kept him so far from her? Surely he should have been kept the closest of all?

-o-o-o-

When the moon rose sufficient to reach their higher position, Obi, Thayne, and Grail moved down into the valley, staying just ahead of the light itself as it reflected off the grey stones. Obi was headed for a position at the back of the house, near the torch that was directly across from the back door to the house. Soldiers would enter the house in front of them, forming a phalanx to get them into the house through the door. Then they would hunt for Earl College. That was, if they needed to go inside at all.

Zen expected the uncle to come to the front to parlay, and would meet with him there to hear what he had to say. He had one of the family waiting with him that knew how to distinguish between the two men so that they wouldn't be mistaken, though at the beginning, and in the end, it really didn't matter which one was which. They just needed to capture them both.

Obi gave the sign that they were in place. The guards in front of him put out the torch. Running around the house to both sides of him, each of the torches were also put out until only the three in front of the main door were lit. Then the center of those three was also put out. Zen was in place and ready. They had been up in the dark of the mountain in order to adjust their eyes to the darkness and they had been very careful to not let that be damaged by the torchlight. The soldiers who had been waiting were already used to the light, so they could get close enough to the torches to put them out without compromising their sight.

Now the group that had come from the mountains switched places with the ones who had been closer. The original soldiers watching the house would have time for their eyes to adjust while the first part of the battle was fought by the new line.

It didn't take long for the front door to open and the Earl to come out. "Have you come as a coward in the night to fetch me, then?" he roared.

"That depends on who you are," Mitsuhide was the voice of the Regent, and he answered coolly.

The Earl stopped. He squinted in the darkness, trying to see if there was a person who might be talking to him, or if that person was hidden. Not seeing anyone, he answered, "Who I am may depend on who you are, and who you seek. Show yourself!"

The back door of the house opened. Obi tensed. Men flowed out and encircled the back of the house, facing outward, but they didn't show themselves to the front of the house. Obi's instinct, and Ilena's description of the Earl, told him the one in the front was the true Earl College, and the one coming out the back was the uncle, preparing a way to escape if the trade did not go well. But he was to wait.

Grail stepped into the space between the lit torches, but in a place he couldn't be seen clearly. The message ran around the house and Thayne whispered in his ear. Obi nodded. He'd been right. If the person who came out the front was Earl College, Obi's double would show himself. If it had been the uncle, Zen would have stepped out. It didn't matter to Zen and Obi which one was where. They were equally mad at both. It mattered that they both got a chance to take care of one of them. And it mattered to the plan, as to what face they showed to the men they were hunting.

"Wellesley!" The Earl in the front roared. Then he laughed loud and long. "Have you finally come for me yourself, then? Has your owner let you off your leash long enough to come hunting?" Obi's reaction was less than even Grail's was. He could care less what the man said. "I already have let Ilena go, you know. But then, you were the last one to see her, weren't you? Did she die still speaking your name? Or was it mine?" He laughed evilly. "Her words at night contained my name as frequently as yours." Obi wondered if they should have told Grail about the sleeptalking, but it was too late now, and he probably already knew.

There was movement at the back door, and another Earl College came to stand just inside it, covered in a cloak, and just partially visible. Mitsuhide's voice could be heard again, taunting the Earl as if he were Wellesley. Grail played the puppet. It had been decided that Grail's accent was sufficient to give him away as not being Wellesley, so he wasn't to speak himself, though Obi suspected he'd have choice words of his own to voice if they exchanged blows. Once they crossed swords, it wouldn't matter any more.

Then they could hear Mitsuhide voice a challenge to the Earl. The Earl answered with a scoffing laugh. "Do you think you are finally ready to face me? Have you grown strong enough, then? I would be happy to test you. ...But only you and me."

Obi felt a hand on his back. He turned and looked into Zen's eyes. They smiled predatory smiles at each other, then traded places. Obi left Thayne with Zen and Kiki, and headed around to the front of the house to meet up with Mitsuhide and Grail. Grail, using Mitsuhide's voice, was accepting the personal challenge. The uncle, having heard the challenge and its acceptance, was stepping out of the house. As Obi moved stealthily around the house through the trees and rocks, he could see the men in the back tightening their formation in preparation for breaking through the blockade. It looked like he was going to try to make a run for it to Tarc, not having a Prince to negotiate with.

Grail was wearing Obi's hood he wore anytime he was out, except when he had to be in his dress formals, to disguise his slight differences in appearance. He carried himself differently, but with the number of possibilities of who Wellesley could have become, it perhaps wouldn't have been unusual for the Earl to wonder if there was yet another potential Wellesley he had somehow missed. Grail stepped out into the clearing, carrying his sword, and the Earl stepped up to meet him. Obi carefully inspected the windows of the house for signs of watchers at the side windows. When he'd learned their pattern of watching, he ghosted to the side of the house and hugged it where he wouldn't be seen, keeping low to the ground.

As soon as he was in place, he could hear the first clash of steel in the front of the house. Only a few blows into the battle and another signal was given and four arrows shot through the two torches still lit. Pitch on the arrows caught fire as they passed through the flames and the lit arrows stuck into the front of the house. Obi counted to five to let the arrows catch the pitch that had been rubbed on the house by Zen's early spies before the Earl's main party arrived. Then, before the men still inside the house could come out the front door, he looked around the corner, quickly assessed the fight, and ran silently up behind the Earl and thrust his sword deep into his unprotected back. He twisted the blade and dragged it up through his heart and towards his head.

"You're facing the wrong way, brother," he said as Earl College twisted in surprise to see who had interrupted the challenge and was killing him. He grinned into the dimming eyes. "You see, you aren't the only one with a double from Selicia."

The Earl roared and hammer swung his sword around to chop at Obi. Leaving his sword in Earl College's back, for it had gone in too deeply, he nimbly leapt back. Grail, now with the unprotected side facing him, swung his sword with great strength and cut through the Earl's neck severing the head from the body. Obi decided that form of death must be a Selician thing.

But now he wondered if he had a problem. He was facing an armed Grail and his own sword was not within easy reach. Grail reached down and yanked Obi's sword out of the corpse and tossed it to him, then turned to face the house. Obi, somewhat grateful Grail wasn't going to turn on him, at least not yet, snatched his sword out of the air and also turned to face the house. Their defenders arrived at the same time as the men fleeing from the burning house did. Obi was once again fighting men who had been taking the maximum dose of the Little Death possible. He hoped desperately as he fought side by side with Grail, Mitsuhide working to reach them, that it would be his last time.

-o-o-o-

Zen waited until he saw Obi flit across the open area to the side of the house. Then he moved to stand just inside the clearing, knowing his white hair and cloak would give him away in the moonlight. Kiki and Thayne were close behind him in dark clothes that wouldn't be seen. He had looked up the name of Ilena's uncle in the history of Selicia that Obi was keeping in his room. He called that name now, just loudly enough to be heard by that man, but not by anyone in the house or in front of the house.

The uncle froze briefly. Then asked, almost too eagerly, "Who are you? Do I know you?"

"No, you don't know me," Zen answered. "But you've called me, so I've come."

The uncle furrowed his brow, "Is it the Regent, then?"

"Will you negotiate with me?" Zen said, neither confirming nor denying his identity. The uncle looked unsure. "You've already given me Earl College. What is it you want from me?"

The uncle looked dark. "I've given you more than the Earl. I have given you the treasure of three kingdoms. I do not believe you have let her die, but if you have, then I wish for you to give me your life. If she lives, then give me an army to retake my rightful place."

"The only army I will give you is the one I have brought with me." Zen said. "You would only be a pretender to that throne for you have less claim upon it than the one who took it from you."

The uncle went white with fury. At the same time, the men still inside in the back of the house suddenly came pushing out of it, fleeing the flames that were burning through the front of the house. In the chaos, Zen slipped back into the outer perimeter, but he kept his eyes on the uncle, as did Thayne and Kiki. He was their goal, and they expected him to run. When he did, they would be waiting for him.

-o-o-o-

Taking advantage of the chaos at the door, the waiting soldiers rushed the men there, pinning them between the burning house and their own blades. There, also, they found men who had taken the maximum dose of the Little Death, and though they'd prepared, they had to fight hard to preserve their own lives. It wasn't long before the second wave of Zen's troops were needed to help fight, and as they moved in, the first wave slowly disengaged to be treated and recover. Rotating in this manner, eventually all of the Earl's men were defeated.

The uncle defended himself, and directed other men to defend him as well. He carefully looked for openings to slip through until he was finally close enough to the boundary to see an opening and slipped through. He looked back once to be sure no one had seen him, then turned to run. He ran into a sword that pierced him through the belly. As he stared at it in surprise, another sword took his head. Unknowing, a third took his left hand shortly after his body had fallen to the ground.

-o-o-o-

When the battle in the front of the house was done, Grail collected the head of Earl College, then followed Obi and Mitsuhide to sit between the lit torches. Not long thereafter, Zen arrived with Thayne and Kiki. Mitsuhide made a fuss over Zen, as expected, and Zen let him, just long enough to be satisfied, then scolded him into quiet. Obi smiled to watch this familiar interplay, enjoying also Kiki's dry barbs that said she, too, had been worried about not being by her partner's side. When it looked like they were about comforted, Obi sent Thayne and Grail to find proper carrying things for the parts of their enemies they would be taking home.

When they had gone off, Obi called, "Master!"

Zen turned to him, and seeing him sitting alone and looking sad, gave him full attention. "What is it, Obi?" Mitsuhide and Kiki also listened.

"Grail is to the Princess what Mister is to Master. ...He can't see where she stands, so doesn't trust, and is very pained. ...But so far he's obedient."

Zen nodded. "I thought it must be something similar to that."

"But, if he's in that position, then why doesn't he stand with you in the castle?" Mitsuhide hurt just thinking about it, if it were him.

Obi shook his head. "I don't know."

"That must be the source of contention between them, Grail and Thayne." Kiki said.

Obi raised his eyebrow. "There's contention between them?"

She shook her head. "Because they stand behind you, Obi, you can't see it. But we who look at the three of you see it in them, this rivalry."

Obi sighed. "The rivalry of siblings I've noticed. I don't understand why Mother would allow such a thing to exist."

"When you're answered by her, then you'll understand it," Grail's steady voice answered them. "Until then, pay it no mind."

Thayne, coming up behind Grail, grinned. "If you _mind_ such things in vain, you will have to _pay_ more than it's worth. It can be a difficult thing to do sometimes, but it's worth it to _trust that Mother knows what she's doing_." Thayne gave Grail a significant look and Grail turned away from him coolly. Thayne grinned at Obi and slid his thumb into his belt loop.

"Until she goes rolling for the edge of the cliff," Obi amended absently. The others looked at him, not understanding. He didn't elaborate. He looked at the two who followed him. "Are the two of you also vying for the position of Mother's favorite, like Marcus and Henry?"

Grail and Thayne looked at each other, then looked away from each other and Obi, and wouldn't answer. Obi sighed. "I think I must speak with Mother on this thing very soon." He shook his head. Then he rebuked, "Thayne, don't provoke your Brother. Mother has need of both of you, and it makes both of you less able to perform your duties."

Thayne looked down. "I'm sorry, Master Obi, Grail," he said and bowed briefly. Thayne said to Grail quietly, as they were all moving to return to Zen's encampment, "I've noted it before, that Master Obi's mind suddenly moves in unexpectedly deep directions. Be aware that this will happen again." Grail didn't answer him, but he'd definitely heard him.

-o-o-o-

Several days later, the encampments were taken down and the army moved out of the mountains. Zen left one garrison worth to build a guard station to monitor the pass to Tarc and man it. He wanted to know if and when the Lord of Tarc was going to come by this way. They were preparing to camp for the night half-way between the battlefield and the castle, being too large a group to stop at towns and villages along the way, when Kiki caught Obi's attention and gestured with her head. He looked that way, and saw Grail and Thayne talking a distance away. He sighed. They were obviously arguing. He walked over. It really wasn't a good thing to have them at odds.

"No!" He was close enough now to hear Grail's angry answer to Thayne.

"Then let us meet with Grandfather, at least. I'll introduce you." Thayne was wheedling.

"It isn't time yet. It will bring confusion to the Family." Grail shook his head.

Obi was close enough to join the conversation. "What? That Grail is using an alias and is allowing Master to believe he's an agent working out of Selicia? Since when is bending the truth with such stories confusing to the Family?"

Thayne and Grail started guiltily, then looked at each other, Grail with anger, Thayne with stubbornness. Grail finally looked away and Thayne turned to Obi.

Before Thayne could answer, Grail said in frustration, "Thayne wants to make Grandfather's life simpler, his own as well, and have the four of us meet at The Scholars Tavern to get his report and give ours instead of chain communicate them. We can't get Mother's approval before arriving because the main communication branch is still down. He wants to ask for forgiveness after. I'm against it."

"There's a problem with you meeting with Grandfather, Grail? I thought you already knew him?" Obi asked, surprised.

"That's not it," Grail shook his head, but did not elaborate.

Obi thought about it. It sounded like it would be simpler to him, too. "Well, I'd be okay with it, if Grandfather approved. It isn't like Grail would be telling me who he is there any more than he has here. And you're approved to stay with us until we reach the city, aren't you?"

Grail shook his head in frustration that Obi was agreeing with Thayne. "Yes, but there are things the Family is looking for, and it will confuse that."

Obi put on a knowing expression. "Oh! You mean that to be seen with you is a sign of my acceptance into the Family. Hmm...Yes, that would be confusing, perhaps, particularly since you don't like me yet. Well...what to do, then?"

"Ask Grandfather if I may come also," Zen said from behind them.

Obi turned and smiled, liking the surprised expression on Grail's face. "Oh, I like that idea, Master. Shall we make it a pre-arrival party, then?"

"No, Obi. Not a party." Zen rejected him.

Obi's face fell. "I can't drink then? I really need to, you know. It's been so very long...since I went to fetch the surgeon." He got no sympathy from any of the other five.

Mitsuhide finally took pity on him. Putting a hand on Obi's shoulder, he said, "Well, there is always the Welcome Home Birthday party." Obi perked up a little.

Now it was Zen who faced Grail. "I have no interest in taking sides in a petty quarrel, but I do want to know why the communication line of my Director of Intelligence went down at a critical time, what was done about it, and why it still isn't up. As Grandfather is acting in her stead at this time, I'll hear it from him."

Grail hesitated slightly, then bowed. "Yes, Regent. I'll send word to Grandfather to have him prepare to meet you."

-o-o-o-

It was one of those rare occasions when the central room of the upper level of The Scholars Tavern was in use. There were two castle guards at the door to the room, and several others below in the main room. In the room itself were Zen, Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi. Opposite them were Grandfather, Grail, and Thayne. The unevenness of the sides made them feel the missing presence of Ilena. They'd been served a delicious meal with tea, while sitting on comfortable pillows in front of individual low tables. The meal had just been removed and they were now ready to begin the discussion.

Grandfather shifted positions to sit kneeling, and bowed to Zen. "I'm sorry, Regent, that I allowed my personal feelings to make me have an error in judgement in choosing to delay changing the code for the main branch." He sat back up. "However, while it made it more difficult to communicate across long distances, it didn't prevent us from knowing what was going on, nor from being able to act."

"I understand that each area may act independently," Zen answered, "but if the communications across the distances are broken, how may they receive needed instructions from the head?" He had decided to do his own speaking in this forum.

"In the usual way, Regent Zen - by runner and physical message delivery. It's still effective, though slower."

Zen was confused. "How else are messages sent?"

"Ah…," Grandfather paused uncertainly. "By sound or sight. The Regent should ask the Director for those details at a more appropriate time, as they would take some time to explain."

Zen sat mystified, then decided he would accept that answer. "How much longer will it take to get the main branch functional?"

"It already is, Regent. As soon as these two arrived within the city local network."

"The repair has been waiting on only these two? For weeks the network has been down only because of one or two persons? That doesn't seem like a good system, Grandfather."

"The system allows for redundancy in almost all cases, so it would normally not break for such a long period of time, even if many Children should be unavailable. However, you had with you those who, if they were compromised, would bring great harm. It was determined long ago that when those select few who know the most are not able to confirm they are safe and not under coercion, it would be much better for us to use traditional methods that take more time. It's a means to understanding the integrity of the information being passed. If they are dead, a physical message, verbal or written, from a reliable witness is required in order for the network to operate again."

Zen considered this. "Was this why Ilena wanted me to allow you to be contacted after she was brought here?"

Grandfather nodded. "The main branch communication was not allowed to be trusted until after she had confirmed her safety."

"But, couldn't they have answered to the network while we were there?"

Grandfather looked at Grail. Grail answered, "Because I could not trust the information on the main network in the beginning, I made the decision to keep the battle line independent for the duration of the campaign. This would ensure that your actions would not be known by the enemy that had broken the main line. Also…," he stopped and looked at Grandfather.

"Keeping the line down allowed us to keep the enemy in confusion. One of the things we do in response to his tests is refuse to show him how far we've advanced. We prefer to be an adversary underestimated until it's too late." Grandfather took the lead again. "Each time he tests us, we are able to learn a little more about how to improve. We only allow him to understand a small amount of what we've learned each time."

Obi shifted slightly, a small frown on his face. Zen asked his question for him. "If there had been trouble here, how would we have heard of it?"

"I would have immediately sent a runner, such as the one that delivered the King's message to you, if I were not able to attend to it myself."

Zen raised an eyebrow. "So, was there trouble that you attended to yourself, then?"

Grandfather smiled reassuringly. "Truly, it's not something to concern yourself about. But it will come out in my report to Grail, that is if you are still wanting to stay for our internal reporting."

Zen nodded. He was very interested in observing that. He wanted to learn more about the inner workings of this information gathering Family that was now his Department of Intelligence.

-o-o-o-

In the end, it was quite long. Thayne asked Obi to give his report first, then gave his, from the time he left Grandfather until this time, leaving out no detail. Grail then gave a long detailed report that contained all of the reports of his underlings - everyone in the Family that had gone to the fight, as he had been the equivalent of their general - and included all of his own experiences following Obi. The castle contingent came to understand why their meeting had been scheduled to begin shortly after sunrise and the first meal had been breakfast. Lunch had come and gone by the time Grail was finished. He'd remembered and passed on every detail that had come to him, the same as Obi would give a fully detailed report to Zen. When he was done, Grandfather asked if they could recess briefly, and Zen gave his permission.

As they were walking around to stretch their legs, Thayne went to Obi. "This is your day's lesson, Father. You also must be able to do this when you're finally at the level of Immediate Family. You were able to give your report acceptably."

"It's how I already report to Master," Obi said shrugging. "But I've never had to remember the reports of others to that detail to also give them, not without having them in writing."

Thayne nodded. "In Mother's network, a written message is a message the enemy already knows. Information can only be protected when it's within the head of a man that will choose when to open his mouth. Information can only be trusted when the person saying it can be trusted, and it can be verified. This is why the words of all are said. If there are conflicts between what many eyes have witnessed, they can be compared and the truth ferreted out. If it can't be verified with the first passage of information, then another trusted source is sought to send the information again."

Zen had walked up to listen. Thayne stopped and looked at him. Zen asked him to continue, so he did. "When you report, or receive a report, it must be done this way every time. Every word must be exactly said. Those who are in the chain of the main line, which we call the 'river', always repeat back what they've received to make sure that every word is correct before they pass it on. An error of even one word is not acceptable, at any level, but it is critical in the river."

"The local lines, or 'streams', 'tributaries', or 'branches', report all their doings at regular intervals. This is to maintain order within the river, and to confirm that all is well in that area. If a report is not received at its time, a request is sent back down that they be checked by the next closest area to confirm their integrity and well being. If an area has an emergent message, the river is interruptible, though it's not always busy."

"Grail's report was long because he needed to report an entire campaign's report. If the main line had been integral, it would have been much shorter. It will now be the same with the reports coming in from the streams. It will take quite some time to receive them all and restore the regular flow."

"Ah, like the same as us in the Rose office," Obi sighed. "We will have great mountains of papers to swim through for some time."

Thayne smiled and nodded. "Yes, the same. There are some people here who will not get to sleep for at least another week, if not more, as reports will come in night and day."

Obi thought about that for a moment, then asked, "How many days will it take Grandfather to give his report to Mother, when she's finally able to receive it?"

Thayne stared at him, then turned to Grandfather. "Grandfather, he's done it again! Will you answer it?"

Grandfather smiled benignly at Obi. "You aren't ready yet for that answer, Master Obi. Some day you'll receive her reports with her, and give yours as well. Then you'll understand."

"Doesn't she get them the same as we give them to Zen?" asked Mitsuhide. "All of you are like us, in that you receive all of the information, but then we summarize it for him so that his time may be put to better use. Don't you do this for her as well?"

Obi shook his head and Zen agreed with him. "No, Mister. Ilena knows every detail. Even without me having heard her say it, I know it."

"Ah," Grandfather cautioned, "but it's similar. There are things that we do not have to tell her."

"Like when it was a problem resolved at a lower level?" asked Zen.

Grandfather nodded. "The problem and it's resolution is passed along, but not the details, unless she should ask for them."

The four from the castle blinked. "Then that's it, isn't it? She only receives the information she asks for."

The two from the Family grinned. "Indeed."

Obi glanced over to Grail. He was standing apart from them, his arms crossed, watching them. To Obi, his eyes were shadowed with pain. When he saw the expression on Obi's face, he turned away from them and returned to his cushion and sat. Zen decided he was also ready to continue and returned to his place as well.

When they were in position, Grandfather spoke to Zen first. "As we've said, the reports are very long. Out of respect for your time, I will only give my report of what has happened here in this place, as I believe it's what concerns you the most, and I shall give a summarized version, such as you are used to. You are, I'm sure, anxious to return to your own house." His eyes sparkled. "However, you will go into it much more informed than normal."


	33. Reunion

**CHAPTER 33 Reunion**

Ilena was crying for a bath again. "I am sorry, Mistress," answered Rio, distraught herself. It would still be almost two weeks before they could let her sit up to take a bath. She had only recently been able to be sat propped up slightly in the bed.

"It isn't the bath you want," Leah said firmly, "it's the who. He'll be here soon enough. But you don't want this report going to him, I would think." Even she had just about had all she could take.

Ilena shook her head. "I don't. It's not. I itch! I want to be scrubbed clean so I don't itch any more." She sobbed, completely miserable. She had been lying in a bed longer than she could take any more, and had, for today, just given up. She had been trying so hard to be good, to be respectful and exercise restraint, but today, she couldn't do it. Today, she wanted everything she couldn't have, and that was making her even more miserable.

Rio looked between her and Leah. Finally she said, "Miss Leah, please will you let me take care of Mistress Ilena today?" She knew Leah wasn't in the mood to reward Ilena today, but Ilena wasn't going to be able to perform for them at all. Leah also needed a break from Ilena and this little room. She had taken her responsibility very seriously and had been the one to stay with her every night and most days since Thayne had left. "For your own sake?"

Leah blew a great breath of air, then suddenly nodded curtly. "You may deal with Her Highness today. I'll return when I'm ready to see Mistress Ilena again." She turned on her heel and left the room.

Rio put Marcus and Henry to work, sending them to call several maids who were in Ilena's Family, then to collect a large basin and lots of hot and cold water. When the small army of maids arrived, she explained her plan. As soon as all the water arrived and they had all their tools, they had Marcus and Henry remove the desk and both beds from the room, the women lifting the sheet Ilena was laying on straight up, then placing her on the floor as her bed was removed out from under her. By the time the army of maids left, the room, the bedding, Ilena, and they had all been cleaned, and a special lotion applied to Ilena to ease the itching.

Though treated as if she was just an object to be dealt with, having the chatter of people around her and their busy-ness, being thoroughly scrubbed and lotioned, and having the room smelling clean instead of like a sick room, made Ilena much calmer. She still wanted to be able to get up and walk, but she could deal with that. She was already exercising in the way she had learned so many years ago. This time, she was sure she was going to walk so wasting time when she should be strengthening her body was not acceptable.

"Thank you, Rio." she said humbly. "I'm sorry."

Rio smiled at her sympathetically. "You must say that to Leah, who has been working hard to help you, but I know it's hard. You've done very well to make it this far. I hope next time you can go farther." She considered. Shirayuki was supposed to arrive soon. She really wanted to help her mistress succeed, and it would be important that she be good for that visit. "If you can restrain yourself while Mistress Shirayuki is here today, shall I invite Ryuu to dinner tonight?"

Ilena lit up. "Can I be Mother to him a little? I'll watch you."

Rio considered it. Ryuu actually liked Mother quite a bit, but she wouldn't tell her, not today anyway. "If you'll watch me and be obedient, and if you are good for Mistress Shirayuki's visit."

"I'll try hard," Ilena said happily. Rio wasn't so sure. She knew her mistress tended to be more excitable when happy. It wouldn't be so easy, she thought.

-o-o-o-

When Shirayuki came, she gave her report to Ilena on how things had been for her since the last time she'd come. They'd agreed that Shirayuki would tell her in detail what happened in her days, then if she had questions or concerns she would ask for Ilena's help. Often she'd learned of something she was lacking and asked Ilena to teach her, or had looked through her list or the list Zen had given her again and found a thing she wanted to work on. On occasion they were able to just visit, though if the visit became too relaxed, Ilena would find a topic she thought Shirayuki was lacking in and ask her to expound upon it, thus showing her the holes in her understanding. Often she would then send Shirayuki to read and study it for herself, suggesting ways to practice, if it was something she needed to do for herself. Always, Shirayuki was to come back and specifically report on her progress for those things.

At the end of this day, Shirayuki said to Ilena, "You've been doing very well for quite some time, haven't you?"

Ilena looked ashamed. "Well, until today, Mistress. Today I itched so much that I couldn't help it. I'm afraid I had a tantrum. Rio was very kind and let the maids scrub the room, and me with it. I made Leah angry with me, though. I'm very sorry."

Shirayuki looked a little surprised. "Leah was angry? I wondered why she wasn't here."

"I told her to take the day off," Rio said to Shirayuki, "and that I would deal with Mistress Ilena myself. She's been working very hard."

Shirayuki nodded. "Yes, she has. I'm sure after a day to recover, she'll be able to be with Ilena again. But Ilena, you're doing well now. Was a scrubbing sufficient, really?"

"They also rubbed me with some cream. That has helped very much. ...And Rio has promised me a gift if I will be good for the rest of the day." Ilena was embarrassed.

Shirayuki laughed. "Well, then I'm glad you're being good. ...Would it help you to make it the next length if I could offer you a gift as well?"

Ilena looked at her, curious. Shirayuki continued, "It isn't a terrible thing to be irritated by skin that won't behave. It's when you won't try that it becomes a problem. If you can continue to do well until Zen and the others return, then shall we have a welcome home party, and wish Zen a belated happy birthday, in your room with everyone?"

Ilena's face blossomed. "If I can behave at a party, I may actually have learned something." Then her face fell. "But Mistress, I'm struggling with understanding a thing."

"Please ask me," Shirayuki said, wanting to help her.

"I can't find the right balance. Obi was training me strictly in order to help me understand the depth of the difference of what I understood and what I need to understand. Because he isn't here to tell me, I don't know how to tell when I may be free to..., well, I don't even know how to say it. It's like, I'm not able to be myself at any time, that I must hide away who I am under a strict mask." Her eyes misted. "It's like I must become something completely different. I want to understand, but I don't want to lose myself. It's very lonely."

"Ah!" Shirayuki was surprised. "No, you don't have to do that. That _would_ be very lonely." She considered. She wasn't sure she could explain the balance either, since she'd always had it. "Perhaps he was going to allow you to slowly build to an understanding. It's unfortunate that you've had to have this gap in the timing of your training, though it has surely been good for you to practice this long. ...I think it might be best for Obi, who has been through it, to continue to show you. Rest assured he'll help you to understand it. You won't be required to lose yourself."

Ilena nodded, having to be content with believing Shirayuki, finding her words to be of some comfort, though it was true that she was beginning to feel a bit rebellious. Particularly today. She took a deep breath. She wanted to have dinner with Ryuu, and she would really like to see everyone when they returned, if she could. "Well, then I will continue to try hard and maybe when Obi returns I'll be ready to behave at a party."

-o-o-o-

At dinner that night, Ilena was delighted that Ryuu seemed smitten with Rio. She wasn't sure Rio saw it, but she certainly did. Just watching them together kept her occupied nicely for quite some time, and soothed the Mother in her, but there was a thing she'd been waiting for.

"Ryuu?" she called when there was an opportunity near the end of the meal.

"Yes?" he turned to her.

"May I ask you a thing?"

"Yes," he answered kindly.

"Before, when I first came, you were lonely. Are you happy now?"

Ryuu smiled. "Yes, I am. When I first was able to go to The Scholars Tavern with Obi, I took the opportunity to ask him my questions. It was comforting to me to have him answer them, and to know that he was willing to answer them. I've been practicing asking my questions, as you suggested. There are many who will talk with me easily now who come to the pharmacy."

Ilena smiled back. "I've noticed that even when you come here, you are able to talk more easily. It makes me happy to see it. You've become stronger."

Ryuu blushed a little. "It was the strength of Ilena that helped me to become so."

"If I have been able to help even a little, I'm glad." She looked at him, and he could tell she had another thing to say. She looked at Rio, not sure how to go about broaching the next topic she wanted to talk about. "Rio come help me," Ilena said.

Rio went to Ilena and bent down to her. Ilena held her hand up by her mouth and whispered into Rio's ear the thing she wanted to say and do. "Ah," Rio said, "begin it with 'May I help you to' and allow him to make the decision as to whether he will hear it or not."

Ilena nodded, and looked to Ryuu, who was waiting patiently. "Ryuu, may I help you to increase your strength, as well as practice your investigative skill?"

Ryuu considered it, then nodded. "It would be good for me to be able to talk to many people," he said.

Ilena smiled happily. Rio gave her a warning look, and she considered her words with care. "You know I'm the Director of Intelligence?" Ryuu nodded. "What that means here in the castle is that it's my responsibility to make sure that the Regent is secure within his own home. Therefore, I have many eyes and ears here in the castle that watch and listen for me. In order for you to become stronger, may I suggest we play a game?"

Ryuu tilted his head. He enjoyed a challenge. "That sounds intriguing."

Ilena liked the light in his eyes. "When you believe you've identified ten of my operatives, whom I call my 'Children', return to me and tell me their names. If you are correct, I will reward you one thing that you desire that is within my power to give." She paused. "There are difficulties, however, that you should be aware of. I'm not the only one with operatives in this place. The King and the Queen Mother also have operatives here, and perhaps others do as well who's intentions are not so kind. You must tell me ten of mine. If you like, we can keep it simple and be done. But if you wish to increase your capability, we can increase the difficulty of the game over time."

"In what way would we increase the difficulty?" Ryuu wanted to know.

"I believe it will be your natural inclination to wait for them to come to you. One way to increase the difficulty is for you to have to go find those who do not come to you. In this way you will learn to converse with those in different environments than you are accustomed to."

Ryuu nodded. He could see how this would be an increased level of difficulty.

"Also, I have Children in each level of the castle - servant, staff, and lord. For the simplest level of difficulty you would bring to me the name of ten of the servants. For the next level of difficulty, from the staff, eight names would be required. For the lords, six, though they will be very difficult to determine for they must hide the best. I'd be willing to reward even four names from the lords. Once you've been able to do these things, then I'd move to seeing if you can determine who are the operatives of anyone other than myself, but this is very advanced, until you've learned to see my Children with ease."

Ryuu considered. "I like the challenge you present. I'll accept it. Is there a time limit?"

"No, though I'll be watching to see what you can do." Ilena was very pleased. "What will you start with?"

"I'll begin by seeing if I can learn to see them in my own place. Then I'll see what I can do elsewhere."

"Will you please keep me informed as to your progress?" Ilena asked. "Ah, and when one is confirmed, you can't ask that person for any help to see another. I'd like this to be done with your own strength. Though at the beginning, if you're unsure, you may ask me."

"Okay," Ryuu smiled. This gentle growing appealed to him.

-o-o-o-

That night, Rio praised Ilena before they slept. "You've done very well today, Mistress. You handled yourself with Mister Ryuu properly."

"He's easy to practice with," Ilena said sleepily. "The same as he's easy to talk to."

"You like him, Mistress?"

Ilena smiled a secret smile at her woman. "Yes, Rio. ...But not the way you do."

Rio blushed. "Will you apprentice him?" she asked, trying to turn the conversation away from her feelings for him.

"I just did," Ilena said happily. "He'll be one of my best sets of eyes and ears in this place. After all," she looked at Rio again, straight on, "everyone comes to him."

Rio chuckled. "Indeed. You are very sly, Mother."

Ilena chuckled happily to herself, then allowed herself to relax into sleep. This reward she had been able to earn herself had been the best yet.

-o-o-o-

Twenty days after they left, the soldiers of Zen returned to the castle. From the Rose office balcony Shirayuki saw them coming over the hill in great streams. She struggled briefly with whether she should stay and do her work, or go and welcome them.

"Mistress Shirayuki," said Tairn, seeing her indecision "to welcome them when they enter will give them as much reward as sending them off did. They find strength in knowing that we're happy to see them return after their great efforts for us."

Shirayuki, trying to not look very happy, said, "Then I'll go down to the garrison grounds. Please let anyone looking for me know -,"

Tairn cut her off, "- that they can come back at a later time. You have a Prince to greet. Your time is his." He grinned.

Shirayuki flew as quickly as she could to the stands that looked over the garrison parade grounds. Not knowing where she was allowed to stand, she went to where she would be able to see them best and first, straining to see Zen. Unbeknownst to her, she ended up standing exactly where the Regent would have stood to look over the soldiers if they had been standing for him to inspect them, or address them.

When Zen entered and saw her standing there, he grinned. "See, she's even able to welcome us properly."

"Do you think she knows what she's doing?" Kiki asked.

"No," Zen answered happily.

Obi laughed. "Likely you're right."

Zen rode up right underneath her, watching her the whole time. She looked at him only, also, as if they had been apart for many years. Then Zen turned directly underneath her to sit on his horse and watch the men finish entering the grounds. She looked up also at that time, though first she looked at Obi, Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Thayne riding behind him to take up positions to his left and right. They gave her smiles, and Obi waved. She waved back. A ripple of noise went through the men, who were unusually lining up in their parade stations instead of immediately turning to work - a reaction to Zen and Shirayuki's interaction and movements.

When everyone had entered the area, and seemed to be waiting for something, Shirayuki glanced down at Zen. He nodded to her and she remembered what Tairn had told her. She took a deep breath. As loudly as she could, she said, "Thank you everyone, for your hard work. Welcome home." She bowed briefly to them.

As the men cheered, Zen grinned a huge grin, then he leapt off his horse and handed the reins to Obi. He walked over to the stairs, ran up them two at a time, and reached her side. There, he gave her another kiss, as he had when they left, and the men roared. He looked her in the eyes and said quietly, "Thank you, Shirayuki," then turned to the men and held up his hand. They quieted and stood at attention.

"This day we have returned successful and proud. You have my gratitude. ...You're dismissed."

As Zen took Shirayuki's hand and began to lead her back down to be with Mitsuhide and Kiki, she looked at him and said, "Welcome home, Zen. I'm glad to see you again."

He smiled into her eyes. "I'm glad to be home. And even more, I'm glad to be welcomed home by you, Shirayuki."

"And will you welcome me home too, Mistress?" Obi said, looking at her with his signature grin from the bottom of the stairs.

"Welcome home, Obi," she said smiling at him. "It's good to see you again also." She turned to the others, who had also walked over to the stairs leading their horses. "Welcome home, Mitsuhide, Kiki, Thayne. I'm glad to see you're also well."

"We're home," they answered, smiling at her.

"You've done well, Mistress," Obi said to her. She tipped her head, wondering what he meant. "You have won the hearts of the soldiers of Wilant. They will follow you anywhere." He'd put his hand to his heart theatrically, then flung it out as if to say 'to the farthest reaches'.

Shirayuki laughed. "I hope I won't ever need to do such a thing, Obi. If I've helped them understand our gratitude, that's enough."

-o-o-o-

As Zen and the others worked to complete the things that needed to be done, Shirayuki watched them from the stands, wanting to be out of the way. Obi was going to leave Thayne with her, but Thayne forbear and said that it was Obi who should be with his Mistress and he that should serve his master by doing the work. Thus Obi was standing behind her when one of the lords who'd seen the display came to talk to her.

Obi listened quietly as the man reproved her, watching what she would do. Shirayuki listened politely, then called him by name and said, "If there is a thing I may do to support Regent Zen, it is my duty to do it. If by welcoming the men who have fought bravely and given him their strength, I may do a small thing, or a great thing, then it is mine to do. If Zen had felt I had acted to remove strength from him, he would have immediately corrected me. I have done no wrong. If you wish to express a concern, then it should be directly to the Regent, who has already made his decision." She looked him straight in the eye, no fear in hers as she spoke to him, the same as she always did, even to the King.

Even though he'd heard her say similar things in defence of Zen before, Obi was very proud of her. She had learned the strength to not only defend Zen, but herself as well. He smiled at her back as the lord she stood up to left in frustration. He would enjoy reporting this to his Master. "You've become stronger, Mistress, while we were away," he complimented her.

"You think so, Obi?" she asked. "I've certainly learned many things, sitting in the Rose office and being supported by those around me. But I still have yet many more things to learn."

"I'm sure you'll continue to be strong," Obi said. "Master was very pleased that you came to greet him."

She turned and smiled at him. "Tairn said I may. I wasn't sure."

"I'll be sure to thank him, then, for Master's sake." Obi made sure to remember it.

"Ah!" Shirayuki remembered, looking at him again. "Will you go and greet Ilena?"

Obi smiled a soft smile for her. "Yes, but it isn't yet time. There are things I must do first. Will you let me surprise her?"

Shirayuki tipped her head, then shrugged. "If that's what you wish."

"How has she been doing?" he asked her.

"She's been learning her lessons well, even as she's been helping me with mine. ...She isn't sure she wishes to have the party at her room," Obi was surprised, "at least not until she can speak with you. She is still unsure because Obi hasn't seen her yet."

"I'll go soon," Obi reassured Shirayuki. He could tell that at least she very much wanted to be able to include Ilena. That was a good sign.

-o-o-o-

Obi paused outside Ilena's door and took a moment to steel himself. He'd learned already when training Ilena that he found it just as difficult for him to learn to be a master of the sort she needed as she found it to be obedient. When he was strong, she found it easier to be strong herself. Just as he, on this side of the door, found it hard to think of her on the other side of it without being overcome by his need to be with her, he knew she would find it difficult to think of him having returned. Before they could be together as partners, first he needed her report and to prepare her to receive Zen, who was nearing ready to come and complete his business of retrieving the Earl by hearing her witness. It was necessary that they both be strong a little longer.

He knocked a single knock and entered the room. Ilena, Leah, and Rio looked up at his entrance. Leah and Rio were for just an instant very pleased to see him, then closed their faces as they should. Ilena took a little longer, going from shock, to a tangle of emotions she couldn't face, to regal in order to regain her composure, then finally to ready humility. He was pleased she'd been able to make the process flow smoothly, and hadn't simply reacted or cried out. He did find it interesting that she used her normal court behavior to help her get to the behavior she wanted.

By the time she was ready, he'd walked to stand by her side. He folded his arms. "I'm ready to receive your report, Ilena," he said, letting her know this was a business visit from the beginning. He saw relief flash across her face. That was another interesting reaction, though he'd seen it before. She felt his support in his strength, and it helped him to relax inside a little as well.

Her eyes went to the slightly unfocused look of remembering that he recognized from his own reporting. It was the first time he'd required this kind of reporting from her. He was pleased, but not surprised, when it was the same as what he'd heard the day before at The Scholars Tavern - very detailed, down to the conversations, of everything that she'd done. Already she was used to giving, not just receiving, these kinds of reports. He would't have to teach her.

It took some time, just as Grail's report to Grandfather, though not quite so long as it was just her own report. Obi listened carefully to the entire thing, judging as he listened. It was also his first time to receive this detailed a report. He had to quickly learn what things to hear and release, and what things to take note of for talking about when the report was completed, and what things he would need to report to Zen on, as - in their case - he could give Zen a summary. He was glad he could learn one thing at a time here. To have also had to memorize everything she said would have been too much for him this day.

Still, by the time it was done, he was wishing he could have asked her for the summary. To have his first time contain twenty-two days of living was overwhelming. He stood quietly, trying to put together what it was he needed to say. She was still, waiting for him. Somehow, her eyes showed understanding. _Ah. She has trained others to receive this kind of reporting before. Of course._ He relaxed into the knowledge that had flowed into his brain through his ears.

"I'm glad you've been able to learn to eat properly, and that you've been properly helping Mistress. That is good," he praised her successful efforts. "What have you learned from your tantrum?"

"I've learned that if I let a thing that is difficult continue too long without asking for help, then it will overwhelm me, and this is not good."

 _What an excellent answer_ , he thought, surprised. "And what will you do in the future?"

"I'll try to find the source of my distress early and bring it to the attention of one who desires to help me. If I can't find the source on my own, I will ask for help to find it early."

Obi nodded acceptance of the answer. She'd already said she had properly apologized, and been helped to find acceptable ways to distract herself from those things she couldn't change. He thought of a question that came out of her report. "Why was Grandfather not called to come?"

Ilena's eyes crinkled up slightly in a smile, though she stayed humble. "I knew Grandfather was very busy, and did not wish to disturb him. Even still, it was not me that would have called him."

That was true. He'd left it to Leah to make that decision. He turned to Leah. "Why did you allow yourself to become overwhelmed?"

She looked just a little surprised to be called for her own actions. "Ah, I'm sorry, Master Obi. I also found myself not understanding that I needed to reflect upon my own limitations and seek assistance when it was needed."

Obi nodded. "And what will you do in the future?"

"I will also consider my own needs and ask for help when I'm beginning to be in distress."

Obi looked at her for a moment, then softened for her. "It's understandable when it's been only you, with the help of Rio, to see to the needs of Ilena for many years. Please remember that you have many who can help you now."

Leah bowed. "Yes, Master Obi."

Obi turned to Rio. "Thank you for being a strength to both Miss Leah and Ilena." Rio bowed her acceptance of the praise.

Obi turned back to Leah. "Is there anything else you would need to add to the report?" He really didn't want to hear her give a fully detailed report like Ilena's.

Leah thought back through the time, then added simply, "Mistress Ilena has grown stronger. I'm pleased with her progress. I hope our efforts are able to be accepted."

Obi nodded. "Thank you for your efforts in her behalf. I hope the same." He turned back to Ilena, trying to think of if there was anything else he needed to say. Her eyes held a plea. There must be something she needed to hear still. Then he remembered. It was part of the tantrum, and perhaps the reason she was unsure about participating with everyone yet. To answer it, the formal report needed to be over. He confirmed one more time that it could be, then relaxed his pose, moving to sit next to her on the bed, as was his way when he moved to a more relaxed teaching time.

He sat as usual, one leg tucked up under him, his hands relaxed in his lap, not touching her, just being near in a position that was easy for them both to see each other, though he finally noticed now that she was propped up into a reclining position. He smiled slightly. "So this much time has passed, that you are now able to sit up a bit."

She smiled back. "Yes. It has made the handwork Leah has been teaching me to keep me busy much easier. It was hard to do the stitches with the cloth held over my head, though that kept my attention very well because it was so difficult."

"Later, I would like to see how you've been doing with that as well," he said. He paused briefly and noted she waited for him very patiently. That was good. She'd overcome her overeagerness. "You asked Mistress if it was necessary for you to lose yourself in order to learn what you needed to learn." He could see this was a very necessary thing to her to hear. He could understand it, her fear. "She was right to tell you that it isn't necessary, and that I'm training you to come to understand through progression. If you've practiced being fully restrained at the beginning, it's easier to understand where to go to if you're unsure. Full restraint is never wrong." He could see she could understand this position.

"How Rio helped you when you had dinner with Ryuu that night is the next step to understanding. While we may give advice, we must first learn to offer it, allowing the master or mistress to reject it. If they reject hearing it, that is theirs to decide, to learn strength from it however they will. You've done this before, when you asked Master if he would pay the price to hear how to make my way easier the first time I went out to collect the Children. Because he wouldn't pay the lesser price to hear your words, I was made to pay a price, and thus his own price in the end was higher. You must do this from now on. It is your next lesson." He looked at her solemnly. "While you have done it before, I expect this will likely be a difficult lesson for you to learn, given how you behave when you're Mother."

Ilena paused as if she had a thing to say in response. He nodded to give her permission to speak it. He was glad she still remembered this kind of exchange. It had been the hardest for her learn at the beginning. "When Rio helped me to understand it, it seemed to be a natural thing, and not difficult at the time." Her brow furrowed. "I think it may be because I do it often that way when I'm teaching." Her brow cleared. "If I can think of any advice I might give as an offering to teach, rather than a thing that needs to be told, it will be simpler to do. ...Though of course the practice to remember it will take time," she added very practically minded.

"I'm glad you have a way to think of it that will help you," Obi praised her, a bit relieved himself, though he would still have to be very vigilant until it looked like she was finally remembering it automatically, mostly because it was an area in which she had so far shown very little restraint. He looked at her to see if she was done with her questions. He could see she had paused to think. Then she looked sad. "What is it?" he asked her.

"Obi...," she looked up at him questioningly and very sad, "I understand that it's necessary to contain my emotions. I've already learned this when I was young, and practicing it again was necessary, but...," she bit her lip, "...am I never allowed to laugh again?"

Obi was stung. His nonexistent horse ears went back in surprise, and he had to fight to keep his eyes from going wide. She still needed him to be calmly in control. "Is this what you meant by feeling like you were losing yourself?" he said gently. She nodded, still biting her lip, though not even that was quite keeping her from tearing up. He gently wiped the tear threatening to fall from her eye. "If Ilena couldn't still laugh, she wouldn't be Ilena," he said simply. "The same as if Ilena couldn't cry, she wouldn't be Ilena. I'm still Obi, though I've also had to learn restraint, and am even still learning it. It's true that we must learn when it is appropriate to relax and be just Obi or just Ilena, and when we must show the greater restraint." He paused.

"Is this why you're unsure about having everyone come? Because you haven't learned this yet?" Ilena nodded. It made sense to him. At a party, one would normally expect to be able to relax. If she couldn't, it wouldn't be enjoyable. If she didn't understand how much and under what circumstances she could relax, she would be constantly watching her own actions. If she couldn't relax, the others wouldn't be able to either. It would not be good for anyone. "Hahhh. Well, I wonder. ...How was it you were able to make it through the dinner with Ryuu the day you had your tantrum?"

"I watched Rio," she said slowly. "She was able to tell for me when I needed restraint, and I was obedient."

Obi smiled. "Then shall we try that? You watch me. I'll help you know when you need to restrain yourself. In this way you can begin to learn when it's okay to be just Ilena, and when it's necessary to practice restraint."

Ilena looked at him with great trust. "If it's you, Obi, I'll be able to do it."

Obi sighed to himself. It was all well and good, but it meant he wasn't going to be able to relax quite as much as he'd hoped, because he would have to remember it was his duty to help her. With enough practice, with this, too, she would be able to learn to do it for herself. In that regard, being able to have the party in her presence would be a good thing. There would be very few opportunities for her to learn it until she was able to be present with them. Though... He turned to Leah and Rio. "In order for her to learn this thing better, it would be acceptable to me if Ryuu were to be invited to dinner whenever he can come, if you will help her practice. When they can, I'll also invite Master and Mistress to come to dinner as well."

The pain in his own heart lifted as the gratitude in Ilena's eyes grew to make them overflow again. He leaned over and kissed her forehead as she wiped the tears away. "It is a thing you can learn to do, Ilena," he said.

"Thank you, Obi," she said.

He waited until she was in control again, then stood. "You're ready now for Master to come. He desires to have your witness to the matter of the Earl and your uncle. I'll go and give him my report, then you may expect us...all of us," he smiled at her encouragingly.

She looked at him surprised as if not sure she was quite ready for it really, then she calmed, looking into his eyes with trust again. Then she looked quite flustered and concerned. He raised his eyebrow. " _All_ of you? Mistress, too?" He nodded. "Ah, will she be okay?"

"Aren't you the one who said she shouldn't be protected from the things that she needs to understand?"

"Ah, yes, but...is she really ready for something so extreme?"

Obi paused, remembering that Ilena's own first experience with death had been at a young, impressionable age, and had been of the brutal murders of her own family. She had a right to question it. "I'll ask Mistress if she is ready. She may choose."

Ilena calmed down and nodded. If Mistress chose to see, then she would learn, and it would be a hard lesson. "Am I able to help her, if she can't bear the lesson?" her eyes pled again. She wouldn't be able to bear her mistress' pain if it couldn't be shared.

Obi half-smiled a little sadly. "You may ask her, and if she accepts, then you may. It's part of your own lesson."

Ilena nodded. "I remember doing that before."

"Asking if you could give comfort? You've asked before?" He'd never seen it, had only ever seen her give whether the person would or no.

Ilena nodded soberly. "It was when Master Zen needed help carrying the burden that is Ilena."

Obi's eyes widened this time. He remembered that time, when Zen had turned to look at him and had been full of Ilena's light. She had not forced it on him, but had asked, and he had accepted. Both concepts were completely outside Obi's range of understanding. Then he knew. It was because they were family, and they were a Prince and a Princess. There was no other combination like it, not until Shirayuki could be married to Zen. Ilena was able to fill a position for Zen that had been empty until she had appeared. Obi felt very warm all over. He was suddenly glad, for Zen's sake, that Ilena had come to the castle.

-o-o-o-

Zen had finished his preparations and was waiting for Obi. While waiting he turned his attention to Shirayuki who'd been patiently waiting for him. He wondered a bit as to why, but was glad for her presence. He began walking his little troupe towards Ilena's room. "So, Shirayuki, what have you been doing since we left?"

Shirayuki opened her mouth, then shut it again, looking like she'd just thought a new thought. "Ah, Zen, I've been giving daily reports to Ilena and was just about to give you the same kind, but it's perhaps too much information. To what level do you wish me to answer?"

Zen smiled slightly. He was pleased Ilena had been teaching Shirayuki to open her mouth. "I don't need the daily details." He'd heard enough of that the day before. "The summary of each day will be sufficient." He did want to know how she'd handled herself and what she'd been learning.

From the beginning, she'd indeed been accosted by the lords of the castle. He recognized from the names that many of them were those who'd been trying to protect their daughter's interest, but a few were those who had taken it upon themselves to be his shepherds, and one was a man he himself did not like. It seemed she'd had the most trouble with that one. He was pleased when in her report she indicated that she had finally, with the advice of Ilena, and through the continued support from Tairn and Dane, been able to overcome.

He was also pleased with her progress report as to how much more she was able to do in the office and that her duties as his adjunct had become routine. That fact that she, with the help of Ilena, had been able to solve over time even the more difficult cases, was an indicator of her typical dedication to resolving problems that came up before her. He found it interesting that Ilena had let her do her own research first, then in the end, if even her advice had been unable to resolve the issue, her help had been to help her as the Director of Intelligence and give her a way to attack.

He wondered at this, but it sounded like Shirayuki had chosen of herself to only use such attacks when she had exhausted all other options and her patience besides. That was good, and confirmed his own opinion of her. Those cases, he asked for more detail in. It was likely they would still try to come to him and he needed to know how to answer. Mitsuhide and Kiki also listened closely to those details. They knew they would need to help him discover if there was more that Shirayuki and Ilena couldn't see. Once he understood the cases for himself, he would train her further on how to handle them, both in research and in understanding when it would be appropriate to more quickly move to attack. She didn't always need to exhaust herself upon those who were being malicious from the beginning.

Shirayuki was learning many good things as well in regard to becoming a Princess. She had been studying the history of Wilant and its governance, saying that she wanted to branch out into Clarines as a whole, but that Ilena had recommended that for now she focus on the area that Zen had jurisdiction of, though Ilena also agreed that understanding how all of Clarines was governed was necessary to learn. Zen nodded his agreement. That progression was logical. Shirayuki had been memorizing all of the lords, landed and in staff positions, and was currently working on memorizing the details of each one - family, length of service, and other facts that could only have come from the Department of Intelligence. Zen knew Ilena was preparing her to be able to speak to them from a position of strength and understanding.

Ilena was also having her do one more thing that interested Zen. Shirayuki had been tasked with learning to observe everyone in the castle, from the servants to the lords. When Shirayuki talked about what Ilena's questions were to her about her observations, he slowly came to understand that Ilena was trying to help her begin to see how courtly conversations were each a calculated game. That even the smallest facial expressions were clues. He was pleased Ilena was focusing on this specifically and in the best possible way, but he couldn't quite understand why she was also having Shirayuki do this with the servants, so he asked her.

"Ah, Ilena says that it's because I must be able to have allies in all places and levels, and I must understand how they expect to see my face. Often when I tell her I've observed a number of servants, she'll ask me what I overheard them saying as I was approaching. It was an odd question to me the first time, as I usually don't listen to what others are saying, but she said it was important what people said to me, _and_ what they said to each other. She reassured me I didn't need to judge harshly, just understand."

Shirayuki blushed remembering. "I remember the first time I overheard them talking about me. I was so embarrassed I couldn't listen to anyone else's conversation the whole day until I was with Ilena again. She told me that those would be the most important for me to listen to, because then I would know if I was on the correct path to my goal or not. So I tried again the next day. Some of the things that were said did help me to understand that I was on the right path, and I was pleased to hear them, but some of the things were painful to hear," her eyes held the remembered pain, then cleared somewhat. "Ilena explained to me that it was the other side to the coin of jealousy. Because someone was jealous of where I was standing, they were doing what they could to attack."

Shirayuki looked at Zen. "Women are frightening, especially when jealous. It's been a hard lesson to learn that there are some who will not be turned, regardless of what I try. ...I've learned what it is to have enemies, and Ilena is helping me learn how to maneuver around them." Zen waited while she recovered. He was sympathetic, but he also knew this was a thing that he experienced differently. She took a breath. "She's also helped me understand that if I know who a particular servant works for, I may know what their master or mistress really thinks by what they say to another servant, or how they react to me - coldly or with warmth." She smiled at Zen. "Many of the castle servants who work for Zen are beginning to see me with happy eyes."

Zen smiled back. "Your own work is doing that. Even I've had to win them over since I came. They were my mother's before then, and they have great respect for her."

Shirayuki nodded. "Ilena says that the ones that will not warm up to me are either spies that do not belong in the castle or are so firmly entrenched in their regard for the Queen Mother that there is nothing I can do to sway them, but to continue to do my best, and they will continue to be harmless."

"Well, the latter is true, but Ilena actually told you the first?" Zen was surprised.

"Yes. She says that it's important for me to understand who may be a potential spy so that I may be able to use that knowledge to my advantage if an opportunity presents itself and that even some who seem to be kind are also spies. Knowing from my research that it should be her responsibility to see to them, I asked her why they were allowed to remain in the castle. I thought she would tell me to not mind it, but she answered me directly." Zen tipped his head. He wanted to know her answer as well.

"She said it's because a house will always have 'cockroaches' and 'mice' within it. Once she's identified who they are, she can use them to pass on information she desires to pass on, and if information is gathered that she does not wish an enemy to know, she can capture and be rid of the one that knows it. To constantly be vigilant in removing them means that she must constantly be worried about who it is that will be sent next, though she also said that she keeps the total number manageable, and those who send them have finally understood what her limits are and there is currently a truce between them."

Shirayuki paused, then smiled ruefully. "At this point, I'd reached my limit of being able to comprehend her answer, and let her rest, trusting that she knew what she was doing." She looked up at him to see his keen interest in the topic. "If you wish to understand more, you must ask her." Zen nodded. He understood Ilena's reasoning, but he would ask her for a more detailed explanation at a later time. It was the first time he'd had presented to his face that there was such vermin in his own house, but he couldn't be surprised.

Obi opened the door to Ilena's room and walked out. Zen was sitting on the low wall that was part of the outside of the hall that went around the inside of the medical wing. Shirayuki was standing in front of him just within the courtyard. Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Thayne were standing around them companionably. Obi shut the door behind him and walked up to them.

"Ilena's ready, but is being prepared by her maids." He smiled at Zen. "It's a still a big thing for them to receive Master in his official capacity, but it shouldn't take long. There isn't much they need to do."

"How was her report?" Zen asked.

Obi slipped into semi-formal to report himself. "She was able to practice what I taught her before I left and has held onto the knowledge well. She seems to have an acceptable grasp of the basic level of restraint and I've explained to her why that's important. I was pleased to hear that within all this time she has had only one tantrum, and it was easily handled. She has learned her lesson well from it. ...Also, she was able to have an experience already in the next area I wish for her to study in, and I have set her to that task."

"And what task is that?" Mitsuhide asked. Having been the one to train Zen, he was curious as to what Obi had picked next for Ilena.

Obi quirked his mouth and eyebrow at him. "The proper restraints to giving advice."

Kiki and Shirayuki both looked very relieved, Mitsuhide looked of two minds about it - both relieved and humored, and Zen was having a hard time not laughing. "Master Obi," Thayne quipped dryly, "I think you have taken on a monstrous project."

Obi smiled at him, "Actually, she thinks she'll be able to approach it easily, though she admits the practice will likely be difficult."

"Oho?" Thayne asked, disbelieving.

Obi nodded. "She says if she thinks of it as teaching instead, it should be easier."

Thayne actually got serious, thinking about that. Zen watched his reaction. He also agreed that this would be difficult for her. "No, that might work," Thayne finally said. "She's very good at asking to see what a person is ready to learn when she's teaching." Zen was pleased to hear this was her next step and that she was willing to work hard at it. It was the most essential step for her to learn to be able to stay by his side.

The door to Ilena's room opened again, and Rio stepped out and bowed to them, standing to let them know they might enter. Zen stood and the rest fell into place behind him. "Ah, Master," Obi said, "there's one thing I've forgot."

"Yes, Obi?" Zen said slightly impatiently. Obi often forgot very important things until the last minute when he was reminded again of them.

"Is this a thing that Mistress should decide to see?" Zen looked at him a little confused, though now that it had been brought to his attention, he was also wondering at himself that he had assumed her presence. "Ilena was concerned that it may be still overwhelming."

Zen stopped and turned to Shirayuki. "Shirayuki, you've said that you don't wish to be protected unnecessarily, however, Ilena herself has said that this may be more than you're prepared for. Do you know what I'm here to do?"

"Ah...," Shirayuki shook her head, and her hand went to rest before her heart as it did when she was concerned.

"I'm here to have Ilena confirm for me that the people we have beheaded are the ones who I meant to find." Zen decided the words must be sufficiently hard to hear given that the sight to view would be even worse to someone who'd never been on the battlefield.

Shirayuki blanched. After a great pause, she finally said weakly, "I'll wait out here for you." Zen reached out and held her shoulder briefly to give her strength as he nodded. Releasing her, he turned and entered the room, the other four following him. Shirayuki sat hard on the wall he'd just left, trying very hard to recover. She was glad Ilena had protected her for that moment.

-o-o-o-

"Welcome home, Master Zen," Ilena said calmly as Zen entered the room. He looked into her eyes. He could see they flickered between calm, worry, and a smile. Her general demeanor was one of a calmness he hadn't seen before. That was very good.

He was here for business, but he wanted to reassure her as well. "Thank you, Ilena," he answered her. "It's good to be home again." He stayed firmly in control, but allowed his eyes to also gently smile.

Her smile flitted across her face, and the worry eased. He was pleased. He stepped aside and motioned to Mitsuhide.

Mitsuhide brought his burden up to Ilena. He stood where she could both see and reach it, then removed the covering from it. Upon a wooden plank was Earl College's head. "Please, will you confirm who this is?" Mitsuhide requested of her.

She'd gone very still at first, and now she grew very, very cold. The silence in the room rang. She reached up one hand and brushed the hair away from the right ear of the man's head to look behind it. She looked up at Mitsuhide. "Do you see the scar on the head and the nick in the ear?" He nodded. "Please turn it for me." He obliged. She searched through the hair on the back of his head, then said, "Do you see any mark or sign in this place?" Mitsuhide shook his head. She dropped her hands. "This is the head of Marcovik College," she declared. Mitsuhide replaced the cover on it and moved away.

He took the head to Zen, removed the cover again and showed him the identifiers that Ilena had pointed out. Zen nodded and Mitsuhide re-covered it and stepped to the back of the group of people who had entered. Zen motioned to Thayne, who brought a similar burden. "Please, confirm also who this is." Thayne asked her.

Thayne removed the cover and Ilena shivered and bare her teeth ever so slightly. She was unable to keep the predatory look from her eyes. She motioned for Thayne to lower the plank and examined the left hand first. "You see this nick in this fingernail, ...this unusual bend in this joint," she turned it over, "and this scar going from the palm into the wrist?" Thayne nodded. "This is the left hand of the bastard son of King Melick's exiled second wife, of Selicia. Please turn the board for me." She searched through the hair on the back of the head until she found the mark then looked at Thayne, "Do you see this mark?" Thayne nodded. "This is the head of the same man." Her mouth could not close over her silent snarl, and the look in her eyes was triumphant.

As Thayne carried it over to Zen, Zen asked, "Did he never tell you his name?"

Ilena shook her head. "No. I was only ever to call him Earl College, the same as all the others. I don't think even Earl College knew his real name."

Zen nodded, then looked carefully at the evidences she had pointed out to Thayne. When he was done, Thayne re-covered it and also stepped to the back of the group.

"I only have need of the head of Earl College," Zen said to Ilena. "As you are the closest representative to Selicia within my castle, what would you have me do with the head and hand of the other man."

Ilena's eyes flashed and everyone in the room tensed, having already dealt with her before. Obi shifted sufficiently and Ilena looked to him. He looked at her calmly, holding her eyes with his. He could see she was struggling very much, wanting to fly to attack viciously at the prize she had been offered. He held the jesses tightly. He would not let her have the room on the creance to do it.

They let her have the time to get under control again, and it was long in coming. Finally she drew in a hissing breath, held it, and let it out, but she wouldn't let Obi's eyes go. She had calmed the emotional storm, but now she had to figure out how to properly say what she wanted to say. Her eyes suddenly snapped from Obi's to Zen's. Zen wasn't quite prepared, but he remained externally calm. She waited until he was ready and gave her the signal.

Very carefully, trying to be precise, but not quite able to make it to humble due to the nature of the moment, she asked, "Prince Zen, will you hear my words of advice on how to begin the next phase?"

Keeping his surprise hidden deeply that she would already be at the point of acting on the next phase of the war against the Lord of Tarc, he said to her calmly, "I will hear it." He could see her struggle. She had already been this way with him before, but now she was trying to bring it down to support level.

She closed her eyes, choosing to hood herself momentarily. "Master Zen, your next conflict will come from Selicia and the puppet king. Because it was he who destroyed the previous regime, you have in your hands a means to send him a message, thus gaining the upper hand before he can even move. ...It's possible in the same move to gain him as an ally, and to protect a thing you wish to protect." She took a breath and her eyes snapped open to his again, to see if he had understood or if he would ask her for more information.

Zen considered what she'd said. The King of Selicia had claimed to have killed all of the family of Polov. But one, even though bastard, had remained to cause trouble. That trouble had been caused on Wilant - his - soil. He could lay the blame at the feet of that King, and send him a message, by sending him the head he had missed. This would give him the advantage of having already been offended a second time - the first time for the death of his aunt. It would give the King of Selicia extra pause before considering a push against them. To gain him as an ally - even if it was one of neutrality - against the Lord of Tarc, would be of benefit. If the King of Selicia thought that Clarines was sufficiently strong to stand against Tarc such that even Selicia could be freed from their puppet status, he would do it. "Is the King of Selicia sufficiently strong enough to stand on his own?" he asked Ilena.

She nodded once. "He has been learning properly since he was put in that place. Guidance from Clarines will aid him as well." Zen nodded.

As to the protection of that which he desired to protect…. Ilena was as much a princess of Selicia as she was of Clarines and was yet another of the previous King's house the current King had missed. If Zen wished for her to be able to remain in Clarines and not be used as a pawn by Selicia, or murdered for her potential claim, he would need to make it clear to Selicia that any attempt of either would be met with the same anger he would be expressing from the previous two offences.

Zen looked Ilena in the eyes. "Then I will send him my message." She calmly held her tongue. He was pleased, as he was sure she had already composed many messages to that man in her own mind. "If I send him the head," Zen asked, wanting to know what she'd been thinking, "what would I do with the hand?"

Her eyes crinkled, though fire was in them. He knew he'd scored a point she'd been watching for. He remained calm so that she could answer appropriately. "I...," she changed her wording, "if you wish to send a message to my enemy, I will have it sent to him."

He held still, then said slowly, "What message would that be?" knowing he might be treading on uncertain ground, both for her training's sake, and that he might push her over into the area where they must ask her for all of the information before he desired to know it.

"That you have accepted from him his right hand and have removed from him his left." While she was still controlling herself somewhat, her eyes were now completely the piercing eyes of the wild falcon again. He held himself steady against them, knowing his own control was her control, but he was pleased with the message that would be sent. He was already angry enough to send it. This was the first time she had referred to herself as being a hand of this enemy, however. He added it to the list of questions to get answers to when he was ready to hear them.

"You may send it, but I will provide my own words." He wanted the Lord of Tarc to understand that it was he himself that had been provoked, and the words were not Ilena's to say.

She bowed her head as best she was able. "Yes, Master Zen."

As Zen left the room, he motioned for Kiki to take the burden from Thayne and said to Obi, "I will expect to see you shortly in the Rose office." Obi bowed slightly and watched after him until the door was shut again, leaving him and Thayne in the room with the three women. He turned to look at them.

He'd expected to see at least Rio look a bit faint at the sight of the evidence that had been brought in, but she was as resolutely pleased as Leah to have been able to see with her own eyes that the source of their long-time pain was no longer living. Obi expected any who had come from that house would be as well. He looked at Ilena. She was just opening her eyes to look at him. They'd gone from flaming to merely smouldering and he could see that she was working hard to come down, but she was not settling well. He stepped up closer to her. When Thayne followed him, she flared in alarm, her eyes narrowing. Obi paused. The mode in the room hadn't changed from the very formal it had been with Zen present, and to her, that meant if Thayne followed him closely, he felt Obi needed protecting. She hadn't understood why Zen had left them here. This was why she couldn't settle.

"Thayne, please stay by the door for now," he said quietly. Thayne bowed slightly and moved to obey. Ilena's eyes darted to him as he moved, then quickly looked back at Obi again. He didn't move until she had focused on him again. Teaching her to only look to him had been a difficult thing so far because he hadn't allowed others into the room with them at the first, so then it had been easy. He held her eyes until she understood that she should have let Thayne move without looking at him. She blinked and bobbed her head in apology. Then he moved.

Obi put his hand on her head, and while looking in her eyes said, "You did very well under extreme circumstances. Master is pleased." She was still in surprise briefly, then he could feel her relax under his hand. When she was sufficiently relaxed, but still in control, he removed his hand. "There is still work that must be done, but we'll come again this evening to relax from the efforts we've come from and before we must begin the remaining work." Her eyes were happy. He turned to Leah and Rio. "From the time we arrive tonight until tomorrow morning, you will be free to do as you please." He turned to Thayne, "Thayne also." The three of them bowed in gratitude.

His official business done, but needing to answer to his Master's call, he turned to leave by turning to Ilena and brushing her hand with the back of his as he passed, letting her know that he, also, was pleased. Even that was almost more than he himself could bear. It was going to be a difficult afternoon and evening, waiting for the time they could be together alone again, finally as just partners for a brief time. He didn't look back at her, and she held her tongue, and together they were able to be a strength to the other.

-o-o-o-

Ilena looked at Thayne, who'd stayed behind. "I'll hear your report now."

He stepped forward from the door and the same detailed report he'd given at The Scholars Tavern flowed from him, with the addition of what had happened up until the moment they were standing in. When he'd completed it, Ilena kept him waiting on her for some time.

"Please explain to me what your duty is," she finally said. Thayne paled.

He swallowed. "To follow Master Obi and protect him in Mistress Ilena's stead and do all things I am rightfully ordered to do. To instruct Father in the proper workings of the Family as he is prepared to receive such instructions. To watch over and protect Mistress Ilena in Master Obi's stead." Ilena waited to hear more. He searched frantically for anything else he might have missed, but he could think of nothing else and stayed silent.

"Thayne, what is my goal for Obi?"

"To become the person Mistress Ilena can stand beside." Ilena was silent again, allowing him time to consider what this meant. "...And to become a person who can stand beside Mistress Ilena," he added, and slumped in sorrow. "I'm sorry, Mistress, that I didn't properly understand."

"Thayne, it was not a small thing. You have caused conflict between yourself and First that is damaging to me and my path." She was both upset and sorrowful. "This has caused not only Obi to have to speak with you, but also Master Zen has had to open his mouth. I have promised him that my Family will not bring shame and dishonor to him, Thayne. Because he has opened his mouth, your fate is now in his hands." Her eyes glittered with sorrowful frustration.

Thayne bowed. "I understand, Mistress. I shall properly take responsibility."

"Tell me what you will do."

"I will apologize to Master Obi and Regent Zen for my misbehavior and lack of understanding, and shall ask for Regent Zen's judgement. I shall inform you of his judgement and be obedient to it. This evening, I shall go to First and explain my lack of understanding and beg that he forgive Mistress - that the fault of his misunderstanding is mine. If Regent Zen has dismissed me," the pain within him was very evident, "I shall let First and Grandfather know a suitable replacement must be sent, and shall return to Falcon's Hollow until the time the Regent releases the witnesses."

"And if Master Zen forgives your error?" Ilena prompted when he stopped.

"After I have heard from First, I will return to Mistress Ilena for further education."

She looked at him for a while, as if to remember him, then said, "It is sufficient."

He bowed to her, then left the room a miserable young man.


	34. The Welcome Home Birthday Party

**CHAPTER 34 The Welcome Home Birthday Party**

It had been a long time since Obi and Shirayuki had an excuse to cook for everyone. Zen's birthday party seemed to be a good one. Mitsuhide and Kiki had agreed to bring the drinks: juice for Shirayuki who couldn't hold her alcohol and alcohol for the rest of them. When asked if Ilena drank, Obi had surprisingly said he didn't know. It seemed to them unlikely she drank alcohol, so they were going to bring extra juice just in case.

"This will be the first time for Ilena to eat your food, won't it, Obi?" Shirayuki asked as she slipped her current creation onto a platter.

He deftly flipped the food searing in his pan over the fire. "Yes. I wonder if she likes spicy foods?" The others wouldn't eat it when he made it to his tastes, as he was the only one in the group who really liked it truly hot and spicy. He tried to tone the spice down some for them in what he did cook - except for his favorite dish. "I'll have to make sure Ilena tries a bite of my curry."

"Obi - you'll warn her ahead of time it's spicy, right?" Shirayuki asked worriedly.

"Mmm," he answered noncommittally, pouring the ingredients of a bowl of spices into his pan on top of the vegetables and meat.

"That's mean, Obi," Shirayuki scolded, starting to get her next set of ingredients ready. "Don't fight with her your first night back."

He looked at her innocently as he stirred the liquid sauce into the mixture. "It's not fighting, Mistress. It's...getting to know her better."

"Obi!" Shirayuki brandished her spoon at him.

"I won't fight, I won't." Obi defended himself. He took his food off the flame and placed it into a deep bowl. "There are still many things that I don't know about Ilena. This will be a good opportunity to learn some of them."

"Is she feeling better about us coming?" Shirayuki asked, getting her next pan heating over the flame.

"Some," he answered as he set his dish on the cart they would be taking down with the other prepared dishes on it. He stood up straight, stretching his back. "It is, I think, she's nervous because she hasn't yet been able to relax with us before." He walked back to the cutting table to begin cleaning up, the curry having been his last of several dishes to make.

"Hmm...well, perhaps that's reasonable. But...I think everyone understands that?" Shirayuki flipped her searing meat over, preparing to add a sauce.

"Well, it will also be a good opportunity for her to get to know everyone," Obi said as he carried his cooking utensils and pan to the sink to begin washing them.

As he washed he thought about Ilena and what was next. Getting to know her as a person - her likes and dislikes, her preferences - was as necessary as understanding what her motivations were, if he was to agree to take the final step she was hoping for. After all, if she hated spicy foods and wouldn't let him drink in the house - it would be a sad life to be together that way. He needed to know if there were things that he couldn't live with. At least she didn't snore loudly at night. He knew that much only, it felt like. And, even though she said she loved to watch Master and Mistress, that had been from a distance. If she really couldn't get along with them on a personal level, or even Mister and Miss Kiki, that would be a major problem for Obi. He wondered suddenly if she might be nervous about being with him also, and be considering it a first date.

He laughed at himself. It somehow seemed a little late...or at least backwards. Would their _last_ activity together be finally a date just the two of them? He entertained himself by considering what kind of dates he might take her on, if they ever were able to go on any. Maybe tonight he would ask her what kinds of things she liked to do. "How much time before Ilena can be up from her bed?" Obi asked Shirayuki, having rather lost count due to the battle.

She walked over carrying her dishes to be washed. "Mmm...nine days. She says she wants a bath first thing again, understandably." She smiled at him.

"Understandably," he agreed with her, grinning back. "I look forward to that. Ah! That is why Master set the Lord's Court to be in ten days?"

Shirayuki nodded. "Though I think he should wait just a little longer. It will tire her out, I think, to have her sit up in public so long right away." She looked at Obi. "I hope you'll watch over her carefully there, and if she can't sit any longer you'll find a way to bring her back to rest."

"I'll be sure she's taken care of, Mistress," he promised her.

-o-o-o-

Shirayuki and Obi arrived at Ilena's room right about the same time Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki did. They entered after knocking and pushed the food cart in with them. "Hello, Ilena!" rang out in choruses as they crowded in.

"Welcome, everyone," she smiled at them. "I'm glad you can come tonight."

There was general chaos as Leah and Rio excused themselves and furniture was rearranged to better fit the remaining people and their comfort needs.

When Kiki had put her bottles down on the desk that had been moved into the corner, she walked over to Ilena and embraced her. "Are you home, Miss Kiki?" Ilena asked her.

"I'm home, Ilena" Kiki answered her.

"Welcome home. I'm glad you've come safely." They parted and as Ilena looked into Kiki's eyes, she added, "Thank you."

Mitsuhide took her place. Ilena looked at him warmly but just a bit shyly. "Welcome home Mister Mitsuhide."

"Thank you," he smiled his gentle smile at her that was as warm as any hug. "It's good to be home."

"Thank you for your hard work," she answered and held up her hand, palm up.

Mitsuhide took it lightly, looking at her curiously. She pulled him to her gently, letting him resist if he wanted. He allowed her to pull him close enough that she could speak with him quietly. "Thank you for your concern for Grail," she said to him. "I miss him as much as he misses me, but there's a thing only he's been able to do, and it's not completed yet. When it's done, he'll come to be with me, and we both will be very relieved." She released his hand and smiled gently at him, allowing her pain to show briefly in her eyes.

"Thank you," he said. "It's helpful to know it from yourself."

Zen was standing beside her next. Ilena was a bit surprised to see him there, but recovered quickly enough to say, "Welcome home again...ah...Zen." His eyes smiled. "And, Happy Birthday."

"Thank you, Ilena," he answered.

"I'm afraid that this year I haven't much to give you for your birthday, not being able to get out and pick something for you," she said apologetically, "but if there is a thing I may give you?"

"Yes," he said, and bent down and wrapped his arms around her, "a hug would be very acceptable."

She wrapped her arms around him and held him. Then she whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Master Zen, for keeping your promise."

"Are you content?" he asked her.

"Yes - for now."

He chuckled. "As honest as always." He released her and she let him go, and they smiled at each other.

Shirayuki walked up next to Zen and took his hand. Ilena turned her smile to include her. "It's good to see you together again."

"Thank you for protecting me, earlier today," Shirayuki said to her.

"It's my duty," Ilena said seriously. "There are many things you need to learn, but there are some things you shouldn't have to learn unless you must. ...Or choose to learn," she amended.

"Come and get your plates before it's all cold," called Obi. Everyone moved towards the cart. He appeared next to Ilena with a full plate. "You're sitting up, and you told me you're eating well now, right?"

"Yes, but that seems like an awful lot of food, Obi," she answered him.

He sat on the bed, carefully so he didn't spill the plate. "We'll both eat from it," he said to her. "Mistress and I made it all, so you have to try some of everything."

Ilena's eyes went wide. " _You_ made it? And Mistress?"

Obi grinned. "Yes. It's become somewhat of a tradition for us to make the food for these gatherings."

"What will you drink, Ilena?" Mitsuhide asked as he went to pour glasses for everyone.

"Ah, what is there?" she asked him.

"With dinner, there's juice or wine. There will be a few stronger drinks after dinner."

Ilena considered for a bit. "Let me start with juice for now, thank you."

Obi kept a neutral face. "What do you wish to start with?" he held the fork over the plate.

"Princess Shirayuki's, please."

Obi gave her a bite of one, then ate some himself. He repeated it for each of Shirayuki's dishes, asking her opinion of each as they went, and telling her his own. Ilena praised Shirayuki's cooking and Shirayuki explained that her grandparents had run a tavern and she had learned to cook there. As Obi prepared to give Ilena the first of his creations, she asked him where he had learned to cook.

"Oh, here and there," he answered. "After all, not all of my jobs were from the desk of the underworld. Ah, can you cook?"

Ilena shook her head. "No. My cooking is inedible. Leah has quite despaired of me being able to be a suitable housewife, and has always said that my station would be obvious to anyone who asked me to attempt to be one, even if I should keep my mouth shut."

There were chuckles from everyone in the room. As Obi put the first taste of one of his more mild creations into her mouth, Zen said, "The man you sent as Obi's second, the one we called Grail, he said that you were given laundry to do to as a punishment, though from his description it sounded like it punished them more."

Ilena sighed. "Did he say that? I suppose it was true. Leah only made me do it twice. The second time not only was her shirt darker than when I started, her last pair of socks had holes in them - and she was watching me that time."

As everyone laughed again, Obi asked, "Was it worse the first time?"

Ilena looked at him miserably. "Of course! I had no idea what I was doing, even though she had carefully explained it."

Obi shook his head and gave her the next bite. "Mmm. This is very good, Obi. It's similar to what I would have eaten as a child."

He was pleased. It was one of the ones he was proud of. It was spicier than the first, but he usually ate it even spicier when he made it for himself. Then he put some of his personal curry on the fork. Everyone in the room looked up and watched him.

"You're going to give her some of that?" Zen asked, a warning tone in his voice.

"Of course, Master," Obi answered blandly. "She should try some of everything."

Ilena looked from one to the other, not understanding. "Is there a problem with it?" she asked.

"It's too spicy for the rest of us," Kiki told her warningly. "Obi likes to melt holes in his mouth."

"Oh?" Ilena looked back at him. "Did you by chance bring an orange with you?"

Obi looked at her curiously. "No."

"Then next time, bring one with you, and I won't be afraid to eat with you."

"Are you afraid now?"

"Yes, but I'll eat a bite anyway."

"That's very brave," Shirayuki looked at Ilena with big eyes.

Ilena looked at Obi, not sure she should be trusting him. "Well, but everything else so far has been good. And, it isn't proper to refuse what's been prepared for you."

Zen and Obi both nodded - Zen because that was the way royalty was taught, and Obi because he wanted her to try it.

As Ilena accepted the bite and began to chew, everyone had their eyes on her to see her reaction. "Mmmm... I think...I need to try another bite." She opened her mouth for more. Obi looked at her in shock, much like everyone else in the room. Then he quickly gave her another bite. She chewed it slowly, savoring the texture and flavor. When she was done she nodded. "Yes, this is it. This was my favorite dish in my father's house. Your rendition is very good, Obi. May I have more?"

"You can seriously eat it?" Zen was amazed.

Ilena nodded, looking at him. "Most foods in Selicia are like this. Some of the flavors are just a little different, but I imagine that the seasonings we imported from the northern desert are difficult to obtain here." Everyone shook their heads in wonder. She looked back at Obi and saw his wide grin.

Obi very solicitously leaned in and gave her another bite of his curry. "This is my favorite also," he said. "Everyone else makes me eat this one alone, so I make it to my taste."

Ilena looked surprised. "You have to eat it alone? But it is so good!"

"I think you both must have Selician tongues," Kiki said as dry as usual. "We always wondered why Obi could eat things the rest of us couldn't."

"It is possible," said Ilena. "We are distantly related, after all." She held her mouth open for another bite. Obi had managed to get in a few bites of his own, and he did have to admit it was very good tonight. He almost didn't want to share it, but at the same time he was very pleased she liked it. He gave her the bite she was asking for, then ate a few more himself, ignoring the looks from Mitsuhide and Kiki.

"Just _how_ distantly?" Kiki asked with her eyes narrowed.

"Great grandfather," Obi said briefly as he gave Ilena another bite.

Shirayuki thought about that for a moment. "But, Obi, doesn't that mean you're descended from the royal line of Selicia, then?"

"If it still _was_ the royal line, Princess Shirayuki," Ilena amended. "He has just slightly less a claim to the throne as I do, I think. We are from the same generation, but I come from the line of oldest heirs, save my father. Other than that, either of us could claim the throne, if we wished to press the issue - which I don't. Do you, Obi?"

"Hmm...well, given that I understand what that means now, having followed Master for more than five years now - no, I have no interest."

Shirayuki frowned. "But Ilena, as a Princess of Selicia, don't you have a responsibility to the people?"

"Of course, Princess Shirayuki," Ilena raised an eyebrow at her, "and I take it very seriously. I have many Children in Selicia, quite a number in the castle itself. I've been influencing the current King and many of his court for several years now. He is willing to be molded in ways that benefit the people of Selicia, and he is trying very hard. I've decided, for the time being, if I can help him to be free of his own taskmaster, that the people of Selicia would be much better served by having him be their king than for me, or any other potential rival, to bring the country to civil war again. They are only just now beginning to thrive again, though there is still some prejudice against those who preferred the prior regime, sadly."

"Oh," Shirayuki said faintly.

"Hmmm...Does that mean I have spies in the Selician court, then?" asked Zen.

"Of course," Ilena said matter of factly. "Ah, Obi, are we done eating?" She was looking at the nearly empty plate in his hand. Zen sat bemused, wondering where else he, through her, had spies.

"Can you actually eat more?" Obi asked her, surprised.

"Well, no," she admitted. "Though it was all very good. I'd eat the rest for breakfast, if it will keep. Really, I was wondering if it was time to move on to after-dinner drinks. I would like to hear the stories of everyone's journey."

Shirayuki nodded. "I want to hear, also." She stood up and collected plates, putting them on the cart. Mitsuhide stood and poured drinks again. When he reached for Ilena's glass, she shook her head and he left it, seeing it still had some juice in it. But when Obi's glass had been filled, she reached for it.

Obi's eyes glinted. "Sooo...what happens to Ilena, when she gets drunk, eh?"

She looked at him innocently. "I don't know, Obi. It hasn't happened before."

"Oh? Well, would you like to try this?"

"Is it one you like?"

"Yes. Mitsuhide picks very good drinks."

"Then I would like to try it."

"Wouldn't you like your own?" Mitsuhide asked her.

Ilena shook her head. "No. As a rule, I don't hold a glass of alcohol. If Obi holds it and doesn't let me have too much, it should be ok, I think." This comment seemed odd, but Obi looked like he planned on having fun.

As Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki, with occasional comments from Obi, regaled Shirayuki and Ilena with stories about their travels, most notably the final battle, Obi had an enjoyable time finally getting to drink, and at the same time watch Ilena enjoy each drink he gave her. He got a bit carried away and gradually increased the strength of the type of drink as he went. He discovered he was doing it more to see if she liked what he liked. If he was right, their tastes in alcohols were about as similar as the food. He rather suddenly discovered that Zen and Shirayuki had fallen asleep and Mitsuhide and Kiki were staring at them.

He stopped and looked around in surprise. "Is it so late?"

"Yes, Obi, it is, actually," Mitsuhide was sitting with Kiki resting her head on his shoulder. They were holding hands and looked about ready to sleep as well. "We thought we'd let Shirayuki and Zen sleep it off a little before walking them to bed, but we have a bet going on. Please, don't let us interrupt you."

"A bet?" Obi furrowed his brow, then turned to look at Ilena, who looked back at him mildly. His eyes narrowed and he looked around to the desk that held the various bottles. They were, for the most part empty. He counted. Mistress could take one glass before she was drunk. Zen could finally take just under one bottle, but he would hurt the next day. Mitsuhide and Kiki always restrained themselves to three glasses for Kiki and four to five for Mitsuhide. Between them, that accounted for just over two bottles, or at most two and a half. Five bottles of wine were empty and the stronger liquors were all down three to four shots each, though there were only three of those. He held up his glass, then looked in Ilena's. Her's still held juice.

Obi sighed. "You aren't even drunk, are you?"

"No," Ilena admitted, "or at least not any more so than you."

"So you don't get drunk."

"I don't know. I've never drunk enough to know, but you have been careful to not let me drink as much as you. That has been helpful. I was already pretty full from dinner."

"So..., why don't you hold a glass of alcohol, Ilena?" Mitsuhide asked.

"Because, like Obi apparently, I don't know when to put it down or say no. In order to not out-drink my hosts, I learned to not allow myself to be served it to begin with. After all, it was bad enough when Marcovik was drinking their winter savings in one sitting."

"How do you know you don't get drunk, then?"

"Mmm...well, early on, before I was made steward and was still rather young, Marcovik enjoyed teasing his men. He would hold drinking competitions with them when they got bored, or needed setting straight. It didn't take them long before they wouldn't compete with him, so he would tell them that he would set someone else in his place. Then he would sit me down in front of them. Of course they agreed, thinking they had an easy win. Then he would laugh uproariously as the last one slid to the ground in disbelief." Obi shook his head at her answer.

"Did you ever have a direct competition with the Earl?" asked Kiki.

Ilena shook her head. "It was often requested, but he always refused. It wouldn't have been so enjoyable for him, would it - to see all his alcohol drunk, but neither of us having failed? It was suggested once when the 'Earl' was my uncle. He looked about to try, so I whispered to him what the result would be, and what his reaction was supposed to be. So he refused and said he wanted to see how they did against me again. He got just as much sport out of it that Marcovik usually did."

"Is this a Selician thing also? Being able to not be affected by alcohol?" Mitsuhide asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I do know I can hold more than Grail, though he can drink more than any person from Clarines."

"You should drink with my brother, then," Zen said blurrily from his position curled around Shirayuki in the second bed. "He can out-drink me, but probably not you two. So, who won the bet?"

"Kiki did," Mitsuhide said.

"What was the bet?" Obi wanted to know.

"That you wouldn't figure it out on your own that she couldn't get drunk any more than you." Kiki said, rising to help Zen wake up Shirayuki. "We decided it about the sixth glass, and she wasn't showing any effects yet. That should have been about two glasses for her, and two of the six were already the heavy liquors. When did you give up trying to get her drunk?"

"Ah," Obi said, a bit nonplussed, "when I started wondering if she liked the same things I did?"

"Mmm...," Shirayuki was trying to wake up. "Is it time to go?"

"Yes, Shirayuki," Zen said as Kiki helped her up. He was already sitting on the edge of the bed. "Though I wish it wasn't so." Shirayuki sat up next to him, then dropped her head back down on his shoulder. "...And it will be harder to go if you do that," he added.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry." Shirayuki stood up and Kiki wrapped an arm under her.

"Did Mistress drink?" Obi asked, suddenly concerned.

"Only a couple of sips of Zen's drink," Ilena touched his arm. "It was very cute to watch him blush."

"Oh? I'm sorry I missed that," Obi said, "but even a couple of sips has her this way, heh?" He shook his head.

"Let's go," Kiki said to Shirayuki, and she led her out, while Mitsuhide helped Zen up and walked close by him, ready to steady him when necessary.

"Thank you again for coming," Ilena said to them. "It was very enjoyable. And happy birthday, again, Zen."

He raised an unsteady hand in farewell. "Thanks! It was good to be with all of you for this time."

After good-night's were said and it was just the two of them in the room again, Obi looked around at the room, then at Ilena. "Let me clean this up just a bit, then the two of us." Ilena nodded and watched him silently as he walked around the room picking up stray bits and bottles and setting them all on the cart. He would have it sent back to the kitchen in the morning. Then he prepared them both for the night's sleeping. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol having a minor effect for once, or not, but for some reason it was a bit more difficult to be nurse this night.

He was pleased to see the wound was healing very nicely. When he put his hand on the new tendon, it responded smoothly, and already seemed to have some tone. He was a little suspicious of that. "Have you been exercising the muscle and tendon already?"

"...Yes," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry I'm impatient, and bored, but I'm being very careful to not strain the bone."

He had a sudden suspicion and he checked the muscle tone of her other leg, then her arms, which she normally did not move much either. Compared to the end of the first six weeks after her initial injury, she had quite a bit of muscle tone all over. He stood up, folded his arms and looked at her. She looked very guilty, but not really very apologetic. He finally sighed. "Did you learn to do this during those seven months?"

It was her turn to look suspicious. "How did you find out?"

"Thayne said it to Master. He didn't know I didn't know yet."

"Mmm...I think I should have been even more severe with him then. He didn't say in his report. That is a breach of requirement."

"Well, likely he didn't want to get into trouble, then." They both knew he wouldn't have forgotten to mention it. "I did say I hadn't been told."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "And you likely didn't have a good reaction, either, or he likely would have said."

He moved to finish getting her ready. "...No. I didn't. Master didn't either. He was angry I had not told him before."

"Will you tell me the conversation, since Thayne left it out of his report?"

Obi paused a moment, then repeated it back to her.

"Hah, so it came up because Thayne was telling on you also." She looked at Obi. "Are you sure you want to keep him beside you?"

Obi had finished getting her ready. Now he stood and considered. "I don't think it was malicious. Rather it was he felt it something that was important for Master, and for me, I think, to know."

"However, it's not his to tell. He will certainly need further education when he returns, if you will still have him?" Obi nodded. "Then I hope you will provide it to him," she said it with finality - an oblique order for Obi.

He looked at her. There was one reporting that had not yet been done this day. It was obvious she'd had Thayne report to her after Obi had left him in the room to return to Master. He had come up a while later to apologize deeply and ask Zen for his judgement, then had returned to Ilena, all while being properly subdued. They had all appreciated she had been quick to understand and pass her judgement, but Obi still had questions.

"What do you mean when you say that Marcus and Henry are competing to be your favorites? And, when I asked Thayne and Eldest Son if they were also competing to be your favorites, why did they look away from each other and me and not answer, but look guilty instead?"

Ilena sighed. "It's two different things, but similar. Marcus and Henry wish to be part of the Immediate Family. They're working hard to show me that they can be partners and provide that sort of support, and do the level of work required." Obi nodded. That made sense. "For you to ask the others if they were competing for it, even though you didn't understand what you were asking, they still understood it to mean they were acting as if they were one level lower than they have already proven they can perform. ...However, there is a thing they didn't understand, that I have explained to Thayne today and he has already explained to First Son. In effect it was that they were, indeed, being tested for the same position again. In this, they have failed, for it's one of the requirements that you be able to work with your partner. The failure was because Thayne misunderstood. If he can't repair the damage he has done, then I won't accept him, and you will have someone else to be by your side."

Obi was quiet for a moment. Carefully he said, "I understand why you wish to have Eldest by your side, but I still wish for Thayne. Will my desire have no effect?"

Ilena considered and answered just as carefully. "If you can win First Son, and can help them repair their breach, I will not reject him. It's as important that they be able to be partners as it is that you and I are. Your life will hang in the balance on more than one occasion on their capability to work together, and likely so will mine."

"I understand," Obi said quietly. Then, "Were they not already partners?"

Ilena shook her head. "Thayne is Fourth Son."

"May I ask who Second and Third Sons are, then? Was Eldest partnered with Second and Thayne with Third?"

"Yes, that was the partnership." Ilena's eyes filled with pain. "Both Second and Third Sons died during difficult operations. First and Fourth Sons still blame themselves for being the weak member of the partnership, when it was only a matter of the difficulty of the work. In this they also struggle together. Neither trusts themselves to become a partner of any other person, and perhaps they do not trust the other to be able to be a partner to them, because they can't trust themselves."

"That sounds rather like a difficult pairing, then." Obi said. "Why have you chosen it?" He remembered Thayne's pained look when he had asked who his partner would be. Now he understood it.

"I haven't," Ilena said, looking him in the eyes. "You did."

"Ah," Obi said almost as a sigh. He'd chosen Thayne, so he'd chosen the responsibility to see that he and Eldest could work together. That was going to be a rather large responsibility, but he really did want to keep Thayne by his side. "I understand," Obi bowed to her slightly. "I will do my part."

Ilena nodded. "If there's a thing I may do to help, I will do it."

Obi was mildly surprised, then nodded gratefully, "Thank you." He paused. There was another niggling question in his mind, but it wouldn't come to light. He gave up and went to the candles and blew them out one by one. Then he walked back to Ilena's bed and climbed in next to her, as he'd promised he would.

"May I tell them both that they're demoted a level until they've learned to work together?" he asked her.

"If you wish," she answered, "but First must still perform his duties. There is none that can replace him at this time."

Obi considered. "Is there a time where he could be excused from those duties, even if only briefly enough?"

"...You must ask Grandfather."

"Will he be my ally in this?"

"Yes. He also wishes to see them both healed."

Obi put his arm around her and touched her head with his. "I am home."

"Welcome home, Obi." She put her hand on his cheek. "I've missed you. Thank you for coming back safely."

"Thank you for being here to come back to, and for being my strength to overcome my past and face forward again."

-o-o-o-

 _Fini Book 1: Obi's (Back)Story_

* * *

 _Thank you for reading along with me to the end of Obi's (Back)Story. Please come continue along with Obi, Ilena, Zen, Shirayuki, et. al. in The Missing Princess Book 2: Princess of Three Kingdoms. (Mostly had to make a new story/thread because we go up to rating M after the middle of Book 2 because all our couples get together around then.) Many, many thanks to those who followed along this far since the beginning, and who posted reviews. -Ryuu no Okaasan_

 _Update 5/3/18: I'm so excited. I have this book ready for publication (with proper removal of copyright material, of course. All I need to do is come up with the $ to buy the ISBN. Rather amazing how expensive a simple 13 digit number costs. I hope to have the funds for that in the next month or so, and then Chronicles of Tarc can be available on anyone's shelf. It's been a fun, hard, interesting ride. Thank you so much for reading. I do hope you've enjoyed it and will continue to enjoy the follow-ons as well._


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